


Always

by wheeinswolf



Category: Dreamcatcher (Korea Band)
Genre: Action & Romance, Blood, Eventual Smut, F/F, kindadarkiguess, vampire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-08
Updated: 2020-05-03
Packaged: 2021-02-28 05:22:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 24,946
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22608481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wheeinswolf/pseuds/wheeinswolf
Summary: It was her. The Countess. Siyeon's neck prickled from the heat of her burning gaze. Who was she, who was the woman?"You're free to leave whenever you wish to," Countess Sua waved her hand towards the dining room's wooden doors, "Although I must admit I would be sad to see you leave so soon. You are an interesting woman indeed, Lee Siyeon."
Relationships: Kim Bora | SuA/Lee Siyeon
Comments: 53
Kudos: 227





	1. the woman

"You're free to leave whenever you wish to," the Countess waved her hand towards the dining room's wooden doors, "Although I must admit I would be sad to see you leave so soon. You are an interesting woman indeed, Lee Siyeon." 

Siyeon couldn't help but slightly flinch as the Countess's smooth yet sharp voice cut through the silence as a hot knife would through butter. Her entire body was tense. She shrugged her shoulders higher, almost trying to hide her head within herself. Her eyes followed the small, delicate hands as they wove through the air with the Countess's every word, mesmerized with the shapes they created.

"I want to go home," she stared at the bigger, more clumsy hands in her lap. 

Siyeon pinched the soft skin between her thumb and pointer finger, not daring to meet the Countess's fiery gaze. Ever since they had entered the dining room, the dark eyes were burning Siyeon's soul to ashes. She shrunk even lower, her whisper fading in the large room. Her head felt dizzy from the overbearing smell of the cooked food sitting in front of her nose. Neither she nor the Countess had touched any of it, the plates still filled with mixed rice and various vegetables. On any other day, Siyeon would have inhaled the food by now.

A single, loud clap reverberated through the brightly lit hall. Siyeon jerked at the sudden sound.

The other woman hummed and stood from her chair, the wooden legs scraping against the floor with a nerve-racking screech. Siyeon kept staring down at her lap, her hands never stopping their movement. It kept her focused, helped her concentrate on the moment, kept her uneasiness at bay.

"Very well."

The Countess walked to Siyeon and offered her hand, helping the taller stand up as well. The soft, small hand fit perfectly into Siyeon's, her eyes widening at the surprising warmth radiating from it. Still, Siyeon was trembling from fear, especially now that the Countess was right in front of her. She could've sworn the eyes meeting hers shone with a faint red glow. The Countess gripped her hand tighter and tugged her onward through the imposing wooden doors. Siyeon barely registered anything but the way the small hand felt in hers. 

As the Countess kept dragging Siyeon after her through the mansion, trying to make light conversation by pointing out the various historical objects lining the long corridors, Siyeon could only stare at the windows on her right. The day's last rays shone through the large leadlight panes, the stained glass causing the passing light to glitter in all the colors of the wind. Due to the thin coat of dust covering all sorts of ancient furniture being agitated by their quick passing, the hallway was soaked in a faint milky mist. The Countess's red hair contrasted against her porcelain skin, the milky mist adding an ethereal, almost magical aura to her. She didn't seem to be the monster the townspeople kept trying to make her out to be. Not with the way the light caught in her eyes every time she turned to face Siyeon or the peaceful smile on her lips as they kept talking. All-day long the Countess had been both kind and respectful, answering to every wish Siyeon had had without question. She had not once actively done something to rationalize the uneasiness bubbling up in Siyeon. Both her body and mind went into a frenzy whenever the Countess more or less accidentally invaded her immediate personal space. But that was on her, not the smaller woman.

Only the Countess's animated chatting disrupted the otherwise deadly silence inside the mansion. She kept throwing small and seemingly random bits of information at Siyeon, ripping her out of her thoughts when she pointed to a particularly old painting. 

It depicted a woman.

Beautiful as can be. 

Short, dark hair artistically swept behind her delicate ear with a single silvery earring hanging from the lobe. A rather heavy-looking wrought silver neckpiece decorated the otherwise perfectly smooth skin on her throat. If Siyeon looked close enough she could almost see the woman's skin strain under its weight. Her eyes traveled over the painting, taking in the details on the nearly blemish-less skin. Merely faint scars and moles graced the porcelain skin. No matter where Siyeon looked, her gaze always returned to the painted woman's eyes. Although her clothing hinted at a somewhat poorer background, the woman's gaze held the same pride and power as the Countess's. With the collar, scars and dirty clothes Siyeon was reminded of the slaves their kingdom once had been prone to keeping, hundreds of years ago. And yet her pose oozed with the same elegant confidence one would expect from royalty. The longer Siyeon looked at the painting, the more it seemed to come to life, puffs of ait seemingly escaping the painted, rosy lips.

"My mother."

Siyeon ripped her eyes from the strokes of paint and their mesmerizing gaze to observe the reddish-haired beauty next to her. The sharp slope of her nose contrasted the otherwise soft features of her face surprisingly well. Siyeon's eyes flew to the Countess's brow, taking in the faint white scar running over it.

"She ran away when I was four. Probably died on the road that very day," Siyeon lowered her head when the Countess spoke, embarrassed to have brought up what must have been a painful memory, "Good riddance."

The Countess's smile disappeared and her brows set in a firm frown.

"Follow me," the suddenly cold tone had Siyeon immediately shuffling after the shorter woman.

Her mind was clear now compared to when the Countess had held her hand. She memorized the following hallways they passed through, noticing how none were familiar in the slightest. Even the air she breathed seemed different. Worry crept up in Siyeon, eyes nervously darting around as she tried figuring out where they were going. Their current route was a different one than when she'd first been brought into the mansion and the wary side of her didn't know what to think of it.

"Here we are." 

Siyeon couldn't place the expression the Countess offered. There still was a very faint smile dancing on her lips but a certain tenseness had taken over her overall posture. 

"Please know that you will always be welcome here," she leaned closer, her warm breath hitting Siyeon's sensitive ear, sending shivers up her spine, "Always."

Siyeon nodded, panic rising inside her from the closeness of the Countess's lips and quickly slipped through the door, forcing herself not to outright sprint away. Intense heat prickled the skin on her back. She didn't dare look back at first, but when she looked back the door was closed, the intense eyes long gone from where Siyeon could see them. Her gaze turned back to the winding path in front of her, feet thumping on the ground in a disorganized rhythm. A crow cawed somewhere on the grounds, shocking Siyeon to the point she almost stumbled and fell over. Siyeon couldn't hold herself back anymore and ran, the birds she usually found solace in now spooking her to the very core. She ran and ran, passed the wrought iron gate and headed down the trampled path leading to the village she lived in. 

She never noticed a particularly big raven picking up the bracelet that had fallen off of her wrist.

There had been rumors about the Countess for as long as Siyeon had lived in the small town. Mothers often tended to use her as a character to scare children into obedience. The town's dirty little secret didn't help, rather inforced these myths. Every now and then a young woman would mysteriously disappear with no traces left to investigate. No traces but rooms splattered with splotches of dried blood. Rarely there was a possible motive found, the victims had always been some of the few sincerely kind people inhabiting the town. And with every murder, as was assumed, the villagers came up with stories crazier than the last. At this point, the Countess had supposedly done everything from sacrificing virgins to forgotten gods to partaking in secret rituals involving fountains of blood.

Siyeon didn't want to believe them. She was both too scared and too intrigued to believe any.

Not when the somewhat aloof woman with fiery orange hair had shown up on her family's doorstep last night, requesting her presence in the mansion on behalf of the Countess herself. She had stared Siyeon down as the sun disappeared behind the hills surrounding them, dull grey eyes boring themselves into her very soul. They had been so dead, so very dead compared to the hungry inferno hiding behind the Countess's pupils. Siyeon had felt the danger coming off of the orange-haired woman, oozing out of her every pore. Even with Siyeon's advantage in height, she had felt as but a small child being intimidated by the village's resident troublemaker. Only that the troublemaker could very much have been a cunning murderer. 

The smarter choice would've been to decline right then and there and to simply try and move on with her life.

However, she had always been tempted by fire.

The temptation had only grown when she first laid eyes on the Countess. 

Everything about the woman had been so very different than what Siyeon expected. She was an enigma. Possible the biggest Siyeon would ever meet. With every moment she had spent with the Countess, Siyeon's curiosity had grown, her interest quickly piqued by her mysterious yet kind personality. Her fear had won in the end, the need to escape and free her mind from the Countess's intoxicating presence too strong. A more hidden part of her mind knew she would go back. Possibly the very next day. Especially after she had seen the painting and the Countess's reaction to the strokes of paint. 

Siyeon was convinced she'd seen the painting before. 

The question was where. 

And when.

"What happened? Where were you?"

Gray hair filled Siyeon's field of view when she suddenly stumbled into Yoohyeon.

"Countess," Siyeon grimaced and Yoohyeon immediately understood, her eyes widening in shock.

"You're still alive," Yoohyeon nervously chuckled.

Siyeon flinched when the shadows around her seemed to crawl closer, still as ever when she focused on a single spot but somehow seemingly swarming toward her like an agitated hive of bees whenever she looked away. Only now did she notice the surrounding buildings. She had been so lost in her thoughts that the journey that would usually take the better part of an hour passed in half that time.

"Come on," Yoohyeon patted Siyeon's back, "Let's go home. It's already dark, we shouldn't be outside anymore."

Yoohyeon trailed off and both of them looked back at the mansion, clouded in shadows and looming over their village. Siyeon nodded, still distracted by the shadows. Yoohyeon rolled her eyes and grabbed her hand, dragging the shorter woman along. Her hand felt different. It was bigger, somewhat cooler and more calloused as well. Siyeon couldn't help but miss the softer, smaller hand she had held. They passed house after house, occasionally being greeted by the few other villagers still out and about. Night had fully settled over the village, flooding it with bone-chilling coldness they tried shaking off by quickening their pace. Siyeon couldn't forget the Countess's gaze, feeling those eyes on her with every passing step she took. No matter how many steps she took, how many buildings they passed and corners they rounded, Siyeon still felt the burning heat prickling the skin on her neck. She whirled around suddenly, letting go of Yoohyeon's hand in a flurry and was greeted with nothing but an empty market space and a single horse happily munching its hay next to the somewhat disastrous looking inn. The wooden sign blew in the wind, old iron hinges creaking from the rust and age. Her gaze unintentionally flew to the inn's gable. Her eyes tricked her into believing something was moving, slithering about the straw they used as a roof. She stared at that particular spot, ignoring Yoohyeon's consistent tugging on her wrist. The longer she stared the less she saw. Siyeon was about to turn around and play the moving shadows off to her imagination until a lone crow jerked its head around, the black, minuscule pupil boring itself into Siyeon. The bird immediately took off when their eyes met.

Siyeon shrieked in surprise.

"Siyeon?" Yoohyeon's voice was quiet, worry written all over her delicate features. A rare frown painted her lips.

Siyeon looked at the now empty gable one last time and took Yoohyeon's hand back into her own, picking up their pace that was now closer to sprinting than walking. Only a few more buildings to pass and they would arrive at the safety of their destination. The muddy brown house appeared rather quickly. Yoohyeon fumbled around with the keys, barely seeing anything in the utter blackness of the night. Siyeon cursed under her breath, remembering how she had forgotten to pack the lighter she'd usually carry around for situations like these. The key scratched over the brass-lock, its ugly screeches disrupting the silence and sending shivers up Siyeon's spine. It took a few too many tries, but Yoohyeon finally twisted the key into the right position and pushed their home's door open. 

The sight of their mother, fast asleep in one of two spacious armchairs, with just the fireplace's embers still illuminating the rather small area, brought a certain calmness back to Siyeon's heart. She smiled and nodded in the staircase's direction indicating Yoohyeon to already go up. Yoohyeon quickly turned to walk to her room after engulfing Siyeon in a tight hug, grateful about getting to fall into the soft embrace of sleep early.

"Scream if something happens," Yoohyeon whispered and waved, gray locks of hair disappearing soon after.

No matter what happened, Yoohyeon had always managed to make Siyeon feel at ease. The younger's family had taken her in a year or two ago after she had been living on the cold, freezing streets for about three. As small as the village she was currently living in was, she couldn't have been more thankful for the Kim's kindness and hospitality. Being an adult, unmarried woman with her mind set on studying the world's mysteries would never be easy. But thanks to them she finally had the opportunity to control her own life, be her own person.

Siyeon couldn't help but shake her head at the quiet giggles she heard coming from upstairs. Yoohyeon had seemingly invited her friend in over the window again. She breathed in deeply and shook the day's uneasiness off of her shoulders, smiling at Yoohyeon's particularly loud laughter. She'd have enough time to tease her about a certain bright red-haired girl the next day. Cleaning up a few leftover spots, Siyeon spun through the kitchen area a bit, careful not to wake her mother up whenever she put pots and cutlery away. She knew she'd get scolded for cleaning up at this hour, but she'd always feel the need to help her now parents out whenever she could. It was the least she could do. When the room looked clean enough she softly stepped over to the chair her mother was sleeping on.

"Mother?" 

She whispered, only lightly tapping her shoulder in order not to wake her with a shock. Her old eyes fluttered open, a yawn escaping her when she stretched on the chair.

"My little girl," her mother cupped her cheek, "You are well."

Her mother fell back asleep. Siyeon couldn't stop her chuckle. She leaned down and picked her mother up as gently as she could before walking her to the neighboring room. She tucked her into the cotton blankets and covered her with a second fur one. Pressing a quick kiss on her mother's forehead Siyeon quietly padded out of the room before finally walking up the stairs and falling dead onto her bed. She was asleep before her head met the soft pillow.

Light painfully shone through her eyes even through closed lids. When Siyeon came to all she could see was a beautiful, almost naked woman standing in her room, back turned to her. The woman stood unmoving in the corner of her room, leaning onto the window-still and wordlessly gazing out into the night sky. Merely thin, black undergarments graced her lithe body, the lace wrapping itself around the moonlit porcelain skin. Siyeon's eyes traveled all over her body, her breathing quickening with every inch she took in. Heat pooled in the lower area of her belly. 

Whatever this was, it was more than unexpected.

She tried to move but found it impossible to command her muscles to do anything. A pang of fear erupted inside her heart. The scene in front of her looked and felt too real to be yet another of her waking dreams. Siyeon tried to speak but found her mouth full of cotton, unable to produce even the quietest squeak. Her eyes flew back to the woman when she heard the distinct scrape of skin against the wood. The woman pushed herself back from the window, throwing a last longing gaze at the moon before, at last, turning her head to face the unmoving Siyeon lying on her bed. Every last breath was knocked out of her when her eyes focused on the woman's face.

It was her.

Siyeon tried to scramble back on her bed but her body was still frozen in place. She couldn't move a single limb. Tingles ran up her arms and legs in shivers, her entire being shrouded a veil of numbness. To her surprise, the heat in her body just kept burning hotter, the initial fear somehow disappearing with every breath she took. The Countess strutted closer, red eyes blazing under the soft moonlight. Even though her back was now turned to the only source of light her face was as clear as ever, almost as if illuminated by a hidden power. Flashes of light caught on her sharp, pearly white teeth when she smirked. With every step, she took closer to where Siyeon was lying down, her hips lightly swung from side to side, wholly entrancing Siyeon. Her vision swam with blurry dots of blackness, her head pounding from the flickering lights around her. She couldn't separate reality from dream anymore. All she knew for sure was the numbness boring into her like icy claws gripping her frozen flesh. Her eyelids kept closing, her mind hazy.

When her vision finally focused on a specific point it was the Countess's tongue flicking out and licking over blood-red lips. Siyeon felt the Countess sitting on the bed and then slowly crawling onto her frozen body, luscious thighs firmly placed on either side of her hips. The numbness in her limbs did nothing to hide the immense heat radiating off of the Countess's skin. Even in her paralyzed, vague state of mind, Siyeon registered the slight grind against her groin. Her eyes rolled back from the mix of forbidden pleasure. Burning hands traced her arms, softly tapping at the undiscovered territory before resting on her shoulders. Yet another, stronger grind accompanied the hands inching upwards, lying surprisingly gentle over her throat. The Countess's thumbs outlined the veins pulsating with searing hot molten gold underneath thin layers of skin, her hips moving faster and more determined with every passing moment. Siyeon, strangely enough, felt safe under her touch. The softest fingerpads grazed her chin and traveled up to hold her cheek. Her eyelids lost the battle against exhaustion, falling close as she let herself enjoy the comforting touch. 

Tension quickly returned to her body.

Warm puffs of air grazed her ear just as hot, wet lips wrapped themselves around her earlobe, lightly nibbling on the soft skin. The Countess pressed her hips down harder. Siyeon shut her eyes tighter at the friction and struggled, needing to arch against the invisible chains holding her body in place. Pointed, sharp teeth bit into her ear, drawing just the smallest amount of blood.

"Always," soft lips whispered against her skin now painted with the smallest splatters of red.

Siyeon woke up with a start, the husky voice still reverberating in her ears. Warm rays of sunlight shone through the trees, soaking her relatively small room in yellow light. Her hand immediately flew up, pressing against her pounding head. It had been a while since she'd last experienced this type of waking dream. And none had ever felt as real. She sighed and shrugged her shoulders up, shaking the dream's last traces off. Bending her head first to the left she waited for the satisfying pop before bending it to the right. Happy with the freeing feeling in her neck she stretched her arms over her head, reaching for the ceiling just as her toes peeked out from under the heavy blanket. A small moan escaped her lips as her body woke up fully, the pain in her brain not subsiding in the slightest. At least her spine felt like it had finally realigned into its original position. 

She groaned when she heard the timid knock against her door. Not a moment of peace.

"Siyeon?" Yoohyeon's voice was higher than usual in the morning. "Siyeon come quick. Something happened. Something terrible."

Siyeon practically flew out of her bed, running to the door, ready to protect her adoptive sister from whatever need be. She stumbled over the white shirt lying on the floor, barely catching herself before her face smashed into the ground. Something seemed out of place when she looked down at her hands firmly planted onto the wooden floor, but before she could remember it, Yoohyeon once again knocked on her door. Siyeon shook her head and pushed herself up with whatever strength she could muster, wobbling slightly when she underestimated her own strength. She quickly walked to the door, twisting the knob a bit too aggressively and tearing it open. As soon as the saw the unruly mop of gray hair she threw herself onto the taller, poking at her face and arms, instinctively checking for possible injuries. 

"What happened?" Siyeon tilted her head at the red-head standing a bit behind Yoohyeon, mischevious smile painting her lips despite the worry she still held.

"Remember the young girl who sold us flowers this spring? Gahyeon?"

Siyeon nodded her head in affirmation. Dread filled her at the serious expression on Yoohyeon's face, already expecting the worst. Especially knowing the things that kept happening in this town.

"She disappeared last night. Her parents found a room full of blood and no trace of their daughter."

Her blood froze at the news. She hadn't known the girl very well, but her energetic personality had never failed to raise Siyeon's spirits whenever she visited the family's small flower shop. Her face fell, eyes clouding over with unshed tears.

"Are there any suspects?" 

Siyeon already knew the answer. 

She knew it would be the Countess. 

As always.

"The Countess."

Siyeon cursed under her breath when Yoohyeon confirmed her thoughts.

"I have to go to the academy. There's something I need to verify," Siyeon hugged both girls and left the house, leaving her bag on the stool.

"Actually," Siyeon ran back in, already out of breath from the few steps she had taken, "Take care of each other. And of mother. Please, Yoohyeon. I can't lose you, too."

She knew her eyes were full of pain. They always were when she remembered the night she had to forcefully leave her home, losing everything she had known up to that point in the span of a few flashes in time. She would never forgive them. And nothing could ever change that.

Siyeon didn't notice the older woman stumbling into her and throwing curses at her when she left towards the academy. She stared into nothingness the entire way, theories about Gahyeon's disappearance constructing and destroying themselves in her head with every small rock her feet hit. Something inside her wanted to prove the Countess's innocence. 

Only sometimes did her gaze strive from the horizon. In every crevice, every corner and shadow her eyes flew over she saw those intensely burning eyes staring back at her. If she stared too long she could almost decipher a woman's figure standing, ever so still, in the faraway ends of contorted alleyways. She hurried along the cobble path leading through the village. Although it was still early in the morning, the town had come to life already. People were wandering about, some pulling carts full of the autumn's last harvest whilst others only now left the inn for their bed. The ground was frozen already, a clear sign for the upcoming winter. Siyeon wrapped the scarf tighter around herself, burying her nose in the soft material, trying to hide from the biting wind. Thankfully the academy wasn't that far away. 

She wouldn't have noticed her arrival at the majestic bridge had the guard not called out to her. She quickly thanked him with a flick of her hand and a nod and rushed over the slippery marble. It was as wide as it was old. Ancient even. And since nobody in the town or any surrounding ones cared enough about the academy, the bridge was, at this point, quite literally falling apart. Pieces of the stone railing were missing, had been ever since she came here, and no matter how carefully Siyeon waddled over the bridge she was always scared she'd fall off. The water below was something nobody would ever want to experience. Not from the shore and most definitely not after falling from such a height. The wind was bitingly cold and strong enough to disrupt her balance whenever she turned her body to the right, catching it with her body. She continued her waddle, careful not to slip when the bridge suddenly curved to the left. Seeing that only a few more steps were left Siyeon stood up straighter, hastily striding over the last few tiles. She groaned happily, relieved for her feet to be on solid ground yet again. Siyeon looked back, observing the now small-looking town from the edge of the cliff. Everything felt so insignificant. She barely recognized her home, the building a mere ant in between the superorganism that was the mass of cobble and wood surrounding it. A familiar voice called for her and she rushed to turn around, swiftly arriving at the heavy black doors guarding the academy's entrance.

"Lee Siyeon!" Tolfdir, one of the older academics greeted her, "It has been a while. I was wondering when you'd show up again."

His faraway north-western accent had always intrigued her. Nobody knew where he was from exactly, only that he'd arrived at the academy already old and full of knowledge, ready to teach whatever one was ready to learn.

"I'm sorry," she couldn't help but apologize to him, feeling guilty about missing so many lectures of his, "I had some things to do."

"Never apologize. Never apologize for things you have no control over. I learned that the hard way."

Siyeon smiled, taking the words to heart, and moved towards the academy's archives. She'd stay and talk to him longer usually, always happy to dive into his stories and never-ending well of knowledge, but the library was the real reason she had come. And the curiosity in her was too strong to be ignored any longer.

"And never forget," despite his warm smile Siyeon felt the force with which he said those words, although quiet, "There is no power stronger than knowledge. As long as you know more about your enemy than they do about you, you will always have the upper hand. Always remember that Siyeon, always."

He whispered the last word and disappeared, leaving Siyeon confused. Whilst she agreed with what he had said she didn't quite understand the reason behind telling her now at this moment. She pushed the archive's doors open and stepped through. One of the resident scholars shushed her when her foot stomped on the floor too loudly to their liking. Siyeon glared at them out of the corner of her eye and rounded the corner, heading down tall corridors. The path to the library was imbedded into her brain so deeply she knew how to walk it blindly. She closed her eyes, allowing the academy's atmosphere to run through her veins. Being surrounded by those ancient stones and books filled with ancient knowledge calmed her down like nothing else. The few seagulls sitting on the many stonewalls were the only thing disrupting the otherwise silent grounds. Arriving at the second pair of grand doors she pushed them open and entered the library. Her probably second most favorite place to be. 

Thousands of differently sized candles flooded the contorted, small and narrow corridors in between hundreds of bookshelves into a gloomy yet warm light. A dusty red carpet covered the stone floor and connected the entrance with one of the many staircases leading to some of the higher balconies. She allowed her hand to trace the books' stiff spines, deeply inhaling the smell of old parchment. Siyeon followed a path she knew well, instinctively touching the same books and stones she'd always touch. Tracing the subtle cracks in the stone always helped ground her when her mind was a mess. Her fingers kept gliding over the smooth surface, dancing along invisible lines until her hand suddenly, unexpectedly met a cold almost slippery object. She retracted her hand in shock, almost jumping in the air from the sudden unpleasant sensation. She leaned down, her hair falling over her brow. It was her bracelet. Lying in a puddle of what she could only describe as spit. Disgusted Siyeon took off her scarf, wrapping one of the ends around her palm and picked the silvery bracelet up. Turning it from left to right, up and down she inspected the metal band dripping with the tangy smelling substance.

"What in mother's name?" 

Confused yet not ready to tackle that question she quickly pocketed her bracelet, taking a mental note to inspect it further when she went back home. A faint red glint caught her eye. She leaned back down to the place she'd found her bracelet and discovered a lone journal propped against the shelf right next to the puddle. Her curiosity took over after all and she extended her hand and pulled the journal out. A few dozen pages of what she could only guess were worn inscribed rags were wrapped in some type of leather she had never seen before. Clasping the mysterious journal in her hand Siyeon continued walking down her path, still tracing the wall next to her.

Tapping around one of the sections further in the back she finally found the lever she knew was hidden there. Tongue sitting firmly between her teeth she grunted and pulled at the lever, grinning in victory when it finally released with a muffled click. The wall behind her groaned as it started to rearrange itself. Few people knew about the many secret locations hidden in between numerous bookshelves. She took pride in being one of those few. As Tolfdir had mentioned before, knowledge was a powerful tool. And sometimes she knew to use it. Siyeon ducked under the wooden arches emerging from the ground and followed one particularly dusty corridor. Exactly seven steps later she stopped and lifted her hand to the right. The walls were mossy and wet under her touch with spiderwebs often catching on her hair. It didn't take long for her fingers to find the slightly protruding nub and push it in. The walls grumbled once more, the hidden doorway closing behind her and leaving the corridor pitch-black. Siyeon didn't mind the darkness, not afraid of her unconventional little sanctuary. Soon enough the mossy walls gave way to a small, open space.

Blue light entered the hidden sanctuary in sharp angles through the circular opening on the ceiling. The window sported a rather intricate ornament, pieces of blue glass woven into the otherwise clear one. Wherever the rays hit the floor, specks of dust sparkled and danced in the enchanting light. A single wooden table stood proud in the middle of the circular room, the red duvet covering its material, worn from the many decades of usage. Siyeon gently lowered herself onto the creaking chair and laid the book she'd taken out of the bookshelf earlier onto the wood. She could spend days like this, back slightly hunched and the only sound surrounding her being the flipping of pages and slow breathing. Taking a deep breath she opened the leather-clad journal. Slight unease settled in her belly when she realized just what she might discover inside. Somebody might just have her head for reading it. Then again, it could just as well be some drunkard's collection of nightly adventures. Nevertheless, she trained her view on the first page and started reading.

Word by word her expression turned more sour, a confused scowl sitting on her plump lips. Around three quarters through she slammed the fragile journal onto the ground, frustrated and immensely disgusted by the information she had gathered. There was a reason why she'd been so entranced by the painting the Countess had shown her. She had definitely seen it before. Not quite in the same form, but still the same vibe. The only thing not adding up was the Countess's story about the woman being her mother. She let her head fall onto her crossed arms, groaning in frustration.

"This doesn't make sense," Siyeon muttered into the empty room, "Not at all."

Siyeon picked the journal back up, regretting her sudden outburst. Thankfully no damage was visible as she drummed her finger rapidly along the leather spine of the book. Clenching her fist once or twice she forcefully grabbed the book and hastily pushed the wooden stool back, almost jumping up from it. She walked out of her hidden sanctuary, hiding the book under her shirt's fabric. Her mind was a mess again. She missed the hidden button and had to walk back the exact same seven steps before she could finally leave. The pale, full moon greeted her when she stepped outside the academy after swiftly navigating through the library's many corridors. She almost ran over the bridge, ignoring the slippery frozen patches and praying to whatever entity to be kind to her and ignore her stupidity for once. Arriving safely on the other side she waved at the guard once more, body tense and already expecting him to say something about the book hidden in plain sight. He didn't notice. Technically there was no reason to. The journal, somehow, didn't seem to belong to the academy's archives. Shivering at the coldness surrounding her Siyeon continued her hasty journey. She regretted picking the bracelet up with her scarf now that the night's wind crept along her throat and under her coat. It almost felt like an ice-cold knife slowly slicing along her skin.

Maybe walking to a potential serial killer's hideout in the middle of the night wasn't the smartest idea she had ever had. She could theoretically just go home, enjoy a restful night's sleep in her bed and visit the mansion the next day. The very imposing mansion looming over the small town with a murder of crows circling one of its three towers. She was used to sometimes taking impulsive and stupid decisions. Usually, they involved the next day's meal. Siyeon grumbled under her breath and wrapped the coat tighter around herself, trying to force some kind of warmth to form underneath the leather material. She estimated about an hour of walking to arrive at the mansion. From then on she couldn't possibly imagine what would happen.

She sincerely hoped this wouldn't be her last night to live.


	2. the book

Siyeon passed the wrought iron gate she had so hastily exited through the day before, its screeching loud enough to wake every living being on the grounds. She took timid steps toward the mansion, hands clinging to the leather journal she had stolen. The leather covers almost burned under her fingers, the heat contrasting with the ice-cold wind running over her hands. It had taken up in both chill and bite ever since she had crossed the bridge, creeping under the soft material of her coat, licking at her skin with an icy tongue. By now the cold had seeped so deep into her bones, her clothes had no warmth to keep. Siyeon looked up when a shadow passed over her. The murder of crows she had seen from the distance now circled her head instead of the mansion's tower. Despite her unease, she couldn't help but softly smile at the birds. They had always intrigued her. No matter how sharp and painful their claws now looked under the moonlit sky.

Soon enough she reached the mansion's front door. It took a few moments to calm herself down and gain the courage to raise her hand to grip the fanged crow's head on the door's doorknocker. Siyeon stopped before she could let it fall against the wood. She needed a moment of calm before the storm would inevitably hit. She had too many questions, too many questions she didn't know she'd really want an answer to. Breathing in deeply she let the knocker fall, the muted thump reverberating through the door and seemingly into the stone walls surrounding it. Siyeon took a careful step back from the door, standing on the stoop's penultimate step and waited. She let her gaze wander around, taking in the detailed architecture and carefully sculpted nooks and crooks of every single stone and log the entrance was built out of. Her eyes focused on the pitch-black doorknocker again. 

It was a raven, not a crow. 

The bristles on its beak too long to belong to the smaller of birds. 

How strange.

The door opened. Orange hair and gray eyes peeked out at her, the rest of Handong's body hidden behind the heavy door. Siyeon saw her shiver from the cold, an unexpectedly expressive reaction from the otherwise perfectly stoic woman. One hand gripped the doorframe while the other held it open, her fingers turning white from both the cold and strength of her grip. Siyeon nervously shifted her weight from one foot to the other, feeling small under Handong's critical gaze.

"What do you want?" Siyeon saw Handong's eyes fly to the shining moon behind her. "Especially at this hour."

She should've thought of a reason before knocking. Siyeon blankly stared at Handong, unsure what to say. She couldn't just throw out an accusation and be done with it. Not when Handong was more than likely involved as well. 

Play with fire too recklessly and you will get burned.

"I request an audience."

Siyeon cringed at herself. The other woman stared her down, startled at her strange demand. Handong grit her teeth, visibly annoyed with Siyeon.

"And that cannot wait until morning? People usually sleep in the middle of the night."

"Please excuse her," the Countess interrupted their exchange, voice raspy from what Siyeon presumed was sleep, her small frame appearing behind Handong, "I haven't yet had the time to inform Handong about my proposition. Please, do come in."

The Countess lightly tapped Handong's shoulder, silently asking her to open the door wider. Her orange hair disappeared behind the wood and suddenly the door was completely open with no trace of Handong in the entrance hall. Siyeon gulped and stepped in. The door fell closed behind her.

"Sometimes I'm convinced she's a shadow," the Countess chuckled somewhere next to Siyeon.

Siyeon just silently nodded. She couldn't blame her, Handong's quick exit akin to a shadow disappearing at the smallest hint of light. The lump in her throat grew in size. Her eyes nervously moved around, trying to map the room and imprint it on her brain. They fell back to the Countess when she swiped a strand of hair behind her ear. She somehow looked smaller than Siyeon remembered, looked much more delicate in the flowy white nightgown she now wore. Siyeon followed the dress' intricate patterns down to her ankles, only recognizing nightshade amongst the many plants woven into the cotton. The Countess wasn't wearing any shoes, her bare feet probably freezing on the marble tiles. It explained the difference in height, not yet how unbothered she was by the cold Siyeon felt even now, still wrapped up in various layers of cotton and leather. She remembered how warm the Countess's hand had felt the previous day. Maybe that was the reason why she seemed immune.

"Walk with me? The winter garden is beautiful this time of the year, especially at night," she gestured to the right, her eyes smiling at Siyeon, "Although I must say, I'm curious. Why are you here?"

Siyeon stood still at first, but in a short moment of stupid bravery quickly jogged up to the Countess and smoothly grabbed her hand, pointedly staring at the floor. It was as warm as she had remembered, the heat quickly traveling up her arm over her shoulder and into her heart. Her shoulders relaxed, the new source of warmth making her feel safe. She allowed herself to be led along, just like the first time. She knew she probably looked like a small child gaping at the wonders of a bakery for the first time. They had stayed on the first floor, which Siyeon was thankful for, she wasn't in the mood to climb the long flight of stairs again, and the lower hallways were all littered with both tiny clusters of candles and lit oil lamps as well as various pots of luminous plants. Siyeon couldn't control her excitement for long. She dug her foot in the ground, effectively stopping the Countess in place. The Countess turned back to look at her with a questioning yet soft expression, a playful smile lingering on her lips when Siyeon let go of her hand to stride over to one of the taller stalks, gently palming a glowing white flower. She tenderly lifted the bell-shaped head, admiring the white glow the stamens emitted. Leaning down to look at it better, she took a timid sniff.

And immediately sneezed.

Siyeon jumped back, yelping in shock and almost ripped the flower from its stem. She shook her head wildly and swiped at her nose, hoping to get rid of the tingling feeling. Loud laughter reached her ears and just grew in volume when she kept rubbing the skin under her nose, grimacing from the itch. Still pouting, she turned around to glare at the Countess who was almost kneeling, bending over from laughing so much.

"I'm sorry," she said between chortles of laughter, clutching the fabric over her stomach, "You just sounded like a newborn wolf pup yelping because a butterfly landed on its nose."

Siyeon crossed her arms and strode away from the sneeze-invoking plant, crossing over to the safety of the hallway's other side. The Countess smiled, amused, and followed her, smoothly intertwining their fingers once again. It didn't take long for them to reach the winter garden the Countess had spoken about. A pair of glass doors separated the overgrown garden from the otherwise neat mansion. The Countess opened the door with an exaggerated bow, gesturing for Siyeon to enter. A single tree, taller and bigger than any Siyeon had ever seen, stood in the middle of a pool of water. Four roots grew out of it in perfect, right angles, stretching out into what she assumed to be the four cardinal directions. For whatever reason, water trickled down the tree's bark, collecting in small basins in the wood and then flowing through an eroded hollow in the respective roots. Siyeon stepped closer to the tree, noticing the water's faint glow.

"Everything glows," she grinned and dipped two fingers into the surprisingly pleasantly warm water.

Siyeon quickly took off her coat, neatly folding it and laying it down next to the pond. She kneeled, placing her knees on the folded coat, and continued playing with the water, ignoring the Countess who still stood behind her, closing the door. The green moss, taking over the bark's surface, glowed in a faint green light with every drop of water splashing onto it. Her reflection in the liquid mirror was distorted from the ripples she created with every swipe of her hand. Struck by wonder, Siyeon didn't notice the Countess sitting down on one of the many benches littering the room.

"You didn't answer my question," she crossed her legs, perfectly sculpted calves free of the white fabric, "Why did you come?"

"Water isn't that different from blood, is it? Both symbolize the flow of life, one for nature, one for us. Always running, flowing unless we intervene," Siyeon ignored her question, "It's beautiful, isn't it? A force unmatched by anything except our very own destructive hands."

She stuck her hands deeper into the water, softly smiling at the tingling, almost ticklish feeling the glowing liquid left on her skin. Her smile grew wider, teeth poking through the smile, and she pinched the skin between her thumb and pointer finger. She couldn't help but sigh in content. Something about water always calmed her down, the tiny ripples of the current hitting her fingerpads helped her feel grounded, connected her often fleeting thoughts back to the earth.

"It flows within us all," Siyeon absentmindedly murmured, accompanying her words with timed pinches of her hand.

"I don't know if that's entirely true. Everything stops at some point, whether because we willed it or not. It's just how things work."

Shivers ran up Siyeon's spine when she heard the Countess's husky voice. She glanced to the side, almost expecting to see her kneel down next to her. Her voice had felt so near, almost resonating from within her head. Siyeon silently gulped, staring at her reflection.

"Does it? Does everything stop at some point?“

Clothes ruffled behind her. She didn't need to see the Countess's reaction to know her intention had come across. The water almost glowed more intensely now. Maybe it was just her imagination, just her nerves playing tricks on her mind, now that slight unease came creeping back.

"We both know you aren't talking about water."

The Countess's voice was as soft and gentle as ever. Raspy enough for Siyeon to wonder when she had last drunk something but yet gentle, even with the almost sharp way she accentuated and cut off each word. They rolled off of her tongue straight into Siyeon's very soul. Allowing the glowing water to run down her fingers over her wrist and down her arm, Siyeon raised her hand from the indentation. She shivered at the few drops making it to the inner part of her elbow, goosebumps rising along the way. Tracing the drops of water with her eyes, she shook her head and turned it back to look at the Countess.

"I was, actually. But yes, I do know what you are," Siyeon stood from the pool of water, shaking the last few droplets off of her skin.

"And what would that be, Siyeon?"

Siyeon willed her body to stay still when she heard her pronounce every single letter of her name with care, willed the tingles in her neck and lower belly to disappear. She frowned at the Countess, holding the leather journal out at her. The book felt heavy in her outstretched hand, heavier than it had back at the library. The red inscriptions on the leather pulsated in a bloody color and the longer she stared at them, the more she felt it was in unison with her own erratic heartbeat. She looked the Countess in the eyes, gauging her reaction to the book. At first, nothing happened, her expression as unreadable as it so often was. The Countess simply returned the stare, ignoring the inscribed runes as well as their pulsating glow. Siyeon shook her hand slightly, bringing the Countess's attention back to the book instead of her eyes.

"Where did you find that?"

The icy glare she directed at Siyeon had her freeze on the spot, only now realizing how dangerous and stupid her idea had been. Her reaction was almost comical, black pupils shrinking to nothingness when the realization hit her.

"In the library," Siyeon snarked, ignoring her own warning, "Where else, Bora?"

Siyeon immediately found her back pressed against the wall, faster than she would've thought possible. The cobblestones, overgrown with moss, pressed into her shoulder-blades, some roots sticking out and uncomfortably poking her skin, close to breaking it. Snarling fangs were dangerously close to her face, eyes burning the color of fire staring her down as the Countess firmly pushed her against the wall. Her hot breath hit Siyeon, leaving goosebumps on her skin every time it escaped her lips. She leaned closer and Siyeon's eyes focused on her shining lips, watching them shudder in sync with her breathing. The Countess licked them, her tongue swiping from left to right, causing Siyeon to let out a shaky breath of her own. Her breathing hitched.

"You have no right to use that name, Lee Siyeon."

Her body betrayed her as much as her mind did. She felt intrigued, curious, wanted to know everything she could about the woman standing dangerously close to her. The Countess's growl ultimately froze the blood in Siyeon's veins. She flinched in surprise, her sudden motion strong enough to drive one of the spikier roots into her back, leaving a scratch deep enough for blood to begin seeping out. For some reason, she barely felt the pain and could only focus on the single trail of sticky, hot blood running down her skin. The Countess's fingers dug deeper into her shoulder. A somewhat crazed look had entered her eyes, but even in her stupor, Siyeon could distinguish the underlying pain. She wondered why it was there. Nevertheless, it didn't change the fact very sharp teeth were inching closer to her neck with every passing moment. The Countess had already been close to her skin, but by now Siyeon could practically feel the plump lips on herself. She couldn't bring herself to put in the effort to push the Countess away. Something deep inside her wanted her to finally close the distance.

"Countess?"

Handong had reappeared, just as sudden as quiet as she had disappeared back in the entrance hall and now stood behind the Countess, holding onto her upper arm in a vice-like grip. The Countess stopped advancing, a low growl still reverberating in her throat, eyes unfocused and big. She licked over her lips once more and Siyeon couldn't look away from the perfectly white canines pricking the lower lip. Handong's grip tightened, impossibly more, tensing her entire body in an effort to pull the Countess back. Siyeon whimpered, having held her breath when Handong appeared, and the Countess's eyes focused back onto her, specks of red still flickering in her otherwise dark irises. The Countess leaned closer again with a smirk playing on her lips as she stared deeply into Siyeon's eyes. She gulped, looking away, unable to hold the eye-contact for too long. A small hand pushed Siyeon's chest surprisingly gently as the Countess pressed her nose into the juncture of Siyeon's shoulder and neck, inhaling deeply.

"Bora, it's not worth breaking your promise over," Handong whispered.

An impeccable eyebrow raised at the name. Siyeon felt her grin against her skin, even imagined the softest, fleeting kiss that disappeared as soon as it appeared. The Countess turned around, looking Handong in the eye, and blinked, the red slowly disappearing from her eyes. She let go of Siyeon and took a step back, cracking the joints in her neck and shoulders as she walked to stand beside the pond, head held high when she passed the frowning, orange-haired woman. Siyeon barely managed to peel herself from the wall, standing on wobbly legs as she tried to collect herself. Her back stung from the wound, as small as it was, and she raised her arm, putting pressure on the cut in hope of finding some relief from the pain. With the Countess's overbearing presence leaving her immediate proximity, she felt she had room to breathe again. Something in her other hand burned and when she looked down she saw she was still gripping onto the leather journal. Siyeon shook her head, ignoring how Handong sized her up from the side and stood up straighter.

"So, tell me the truth," Siyeon's voice was uncharacteristically firm, "Did you murder her?"

"You may think me a monster, and believe me, in many ways I am," the Countess whirled around, red hair spreading out like a halo as she angrily glared, "But I do not murder 16-year old children."

The red behind the Countess's eyes flickered back to life, stronger than ever before, taking on a much brighter, scarlet-red hue. Siyeon took a cautious step to the side, trying to get further away from the angry woman, but couldn't bite her snarky comment back, scoffing at the Countess's apparent anger.

"A monster with principles."

She had every reason to suspect her as the main culprit for the murders. Whenever one of the Countess's rather rare visits to their town occurred, somebody would mysteriously disappear a few days later, the people around them always left with the exact same traces. Only the blood-splattered walls were any indication of that person ever having lived. Some entries in the journal she had found were gruesomely detailed, depicting practices that sounded familiar enough to those disappearances. And yet something didn't add up. They were too messy. Too much blood left around when that should've been the main goal for someone like the Countess.

"Oh trust me, every monster has its principles," the Countess's smirk had returned to the curve of her lips, her head cockily tilted to the side, "It is you humans who don't."

The Countess laughed at Siyeon's raised eyebrow. Siyeon's toes curled when the laughter cut through the room, the sound much colder than she remembered. She bobbed from one foot to another, too nervous to stand still.

"Maybe ask your perfect little townspeople about the bones littering their yards, being chewed to bits by their mutts the next time you think of accusing me. You people murder each other more often than animals do. I had nothing to do with that."

With that the Countess motioned for Handong to move, muttering a quiet yet determined, "Get her out."

Handong strode over, icy glare on her sharp features, as she ushered Siyeon out. She took her by the arm and pretty much dragged her out of the room, forcefully pushing the glass door open. Siyeon stepped out of her grip and to the side, throwing one last look back at the Countess who stood alone next to the enormous tree. With that, the glass doors slammed shut just a hair's width away from Siyeon's nose leaving her to stand in the hallway, perplexed. Handong just exhaled in annoyance, waiting silently. The Countess stood across from her, perfectly still except for the soft heaving of her shoulders from anger. Orange hair fell between her and the Countess as Handong stepped in front of her.

"Follow me."

The hairs on Siyeon’s arms rose, goosebumps appearing all over her body at Handong's monotonous voice. She shuffled after her, barely managing to rip her eyes from the lone figure staring out at the water. The mansion had lost its glow and warmth, the plants now emitting a flickering, faded white light she couldn't look at without flinching in pain. Handong set a brutally fast pace, her feet rhythmically hitting the floor as Siyeon tried to follow her, long legs stumbling over nothing but air. She exhaled through her nose, as quietly as possible, scared the tiniest noise would further annoy the stoic woman. Handong seemingly hovered over the ground, gliding down the hallway and around corners. The distance between her and Siyeon grew and grew until the orange hair disappeared from Siyeon’s field of view, now left alone in yet another unknown hallway in the intimidating mansion. She kept walking forward, head swaying around as she looked out for the bright orange. The scream she let out when Handong’s delicate hand suddenly touched her shoulder was embarrassingly high. She gently pushed her on the back, guiding her along the corridors. The biting cold met her sooner than expected and only now did she remember her coat still lying neatly folded on the basin's border. Siyeon crossed her arms, rubbing up and down in an effort to bring her blood back into circulation and had half the mind to turn around and ask for her coat. But the heavy door fell closed just as her train of thought ended and she knew no one would answer the knocks, no matter how insistent she would be.

The moon was high up in the sky, riding the band of stars running above her head. Its glow, although white, evoked such a warm feeling inside of her, completely contrasting the cold light from the plants she had just passed. The stars flickered, some red, some blue and she almost forgot to look at the ground whilst walking, barely dodging a rather large boulder. It was new. She would've remembered the large stone. Leaning closer and momentarily ignoring the numbing chill of the winter night sky she took a moment or two to notice the newly dug up dirt, the night's darkness concealing the fresh traces. She felt her eyes widen of their own accord. A single, loud gasp escaped her and she started running. Simply running away in the opposite direction, not minding the designated path. Nothing made sense at all and she wasn't in the right mind to fully interpret what she had seen, her mind all over the place, from both the things she had read at the library and the encounter with the Countess. She wasn't able to think properly. Everything inside her had simply screamed at her in a deafening tone, telling her to finally run and put as much distance as she possibly could between herself and the mansion.

No matter what.

The first steps went by in a flurry, and yet soon enough her breathing quickened, her lungs burning from the effort. Exhaustion suddenly hit her so she slowed down, opting to walk instead, even as the mansion towered over her from behind. She memorized every single pebble her foot kicked away, noticed every single leaf falling from the trees looming over her. Her hand was tightly wrapped around her arm, repeatedly pinching the soft skin near her elbow. Nervously she looked around, staring deep into the dark forest, eyes squinting in an effort to distinguish the blurry shapes. In every single shadow, she saw the Countess's eyes following her every move, saw indistinctive, formless figures reach out, trying to grasp her. Fear clasped her heart, sharp claws wrapping themselves around it, squeezing so tightly she felt it would soon burst from the pressure. Her steps were unusually slow, the pain in her chest increasing the more distance she put between herself and the mansion. She barely managed to put a foot in front of the other, too preoccupied with forcing herself to stay upright to actively tell her feet where to go, negligent of the winding path and its many holes and crevices. Her legs trembled strong enough for her to stagger. Siyeon clawed at her breast, frantically trying to reach the epicenter of her pain and panic. She was in a stupor, almost as if under hypnosis, everything inside her simply focused on pure fear. Restlessly looking around, her eyes unseeing and unfocused even as they took in the scenery, she didn't notice the upright root in front of her. Her foot caught on it and she fell, blackness consuming her as soon as she hit the ground. The last thing she perceived was the blinding pain on her left temple.

When she opened her eyes again, she was back at the mansion's wooden door, her hand moving back from the fanged doorknocker. Her eyes widened in surprise, the sight a strange deja vu. Her head was hazy still, from the fall, she presumed. She flinched when the knocker fell against the wood a second time, the noise too loud for her now overly sensitive ears. The resulting sound was different than the first time, much wider and grander, reverberating through her very core. Retrospectively, that alone should've been a more than obvious sign. Siyeon blinked once and the scene suddenly changed, the Countess now standing in front of her, blood-red lips curved up into a smirk. Wider than she had ever seen.

"If it isn't Lee Siyeon herself. Back so soon?"

„Why are you here?“

„I should be the one asking. After all, it is you who keeps knocking on my door.“

Siyeon's eyes nervously moved around, a blurry filter lying over her vision, only the Countess and doorframe clear in front of her. Her toes curled, the lilting, husky voice running through her veins, burning along the way. She no longer felt the biting cold, her body being lit from the inside. The Countess leaned against the doorframe, her thin, black nightgown clinging onto her body even as a faint breeze waved along. Only a single cord held the fabric together, tightly wrapped around her waist. Siyeon's eyes trailed the nightgown's neckline, her gaze inadvertently lingering on the deep v-neck. Her throat felt dry all of a sudden.

"You're driving me insane."

„Technically, you're driving yourself insane right now,“ the Countess mischievously grinned, teeth poking her lower lip as she tilted her head to the side.

Siyeon took a moment to stare at the woman in front of her before she took the last two steps into the mansion and pushed herself against the smaller body. Her warmth immediately flooded all of Siyeon's senses, completely blocking out the remaining bits and pieces of haziness and confusion. She shuddered at the feeling, shaking off the winter's lingering traces and gently laid her hands on the Countess's hips, pulling her even closer to herself when she finally realized what was happening.

"This is another dream, isn't it?"

"It's whatever you want it to be, Siyeon," the Countess licked her lips, smoothly pushing her tongue over the soft flesh and softly bit the wetted lip.

Siyeon's hands traveled up to the Countess's shoulders, gripping onto them tightly and relishing in the unexpectedly lewd whines she heard. She swiftly leaned down, brushing her nose against the Countess's, staring deeply into her eyes. It didn't take long for her to break the contact, focusing her eyes back onto the other red, taking in her glistening lips. Siyeon took another step forward, slightly pushing the Countess with her and effectively wrapped herself around the Countess, sneaking her hand up her lower back.

"This time, I am the one leading," she smiled, remembering the other day's dream.

She blinked again and her right hand wrapped itself around a few strands of red hair at the Countess's nape and gently tugged down, tilting her head up so Siyeon could finally crash her lips against the Countess's. The sharp, perfectly angled nose brushed against her own as she gently nibbled on the Countess's lower lip, dragging the soft flesh between her teeth and occasionally swiping over it with her tongue. Siyeon's left hand, still sitting on the soft shoulder slowly crept down to the luscious thigh firmly pressing against her own. First one, then two, then five fingers wrapped themselves around the soft thigh, her pointer finger close to the spot in between her legs. Siyeon growled into the kiss as she tugged at the thigh, her tongue and lips too preoccupied to translate her silent wish into actual words. Yet another needy whine escaped the Countess as she graciously pushed herself up and tightly wrapped her legs around Siyeon. Siyeon's hand supported her from the bottom, fingers softly massaging the skin under their tips, as the other one joined for support. The Countess tilted her head to the side, biting into Siyeon's lip as she tightened her legs around Siyeon's midriff, nightgown falling open from the sudden jump. Siyeon felt the Countess shiver. 

"Left door," she panted out when Siyeon broke the kiss, slowly breathing in and out, trying to calm herself.

Siyeon knew she didn't need to breathe, didn't have to shiver. Especially this weird, dream-like version of her. But seeing her do so calmed Siyeon down as well, her heart beating at an insanely fast pace, almost painfully loud. She knew the Countess felt and heard it, too. Those red eyes, that kept catching her interest, stared at her neck in what could almost be described as despair. The Countess clung to her body, thighs tensing when she shifted around and buried her nose into Siyeon's neck. Her hot breath almost burned Siyeon's skin, the irregular puffs of air causing goosebumps to rise all over her body. Siyeon unconsciously tilted her head, offering more of her neck and granting more access to the Countess's soft lips. Her eyes closed when she felt her trail the softest kisses up to the spot behind her ear. Something swelled within her, seeing the Countess's obvious want for her. She grinned, her not so long canines shining under the moonlight, and leaned her head against the Countess in a brief moment of comfort. Readjusting her hold she picked up her pace, swiftly walking to the door the Countess had mentioned. Her arms trembled from the strain, strength slowly leaving her as she trodded along. Turning, she pushed the door open with her behind and stepped through, fingers clinging onto the soft flesh. The Countess's warm body disappeared from her grasp with only a last, fading whisper echoing through Siyeon's head.

The first thing she noticed was the cold, sweaty blanket she was clinging to. The second was the booming headache quickly taking over her senses. Siyeon blinked the sleep from her eyes, nervously looking around the unknown room. She had no idea where she was. She tried sitting up but the pulsating pain on the left side of her head wouldn't allow her and in the end, she simply flopped back into the deep sea of blankets. Her foot hit the bedpost when she moved around, trying to find a less painful position to lie in and she let out a pained grunt, eyes squinting. She balled the blanket in her hands, holding it closer to herself when the cold hit her toe. Even with how cold it was, both out- and inside, sweat ran down her body, worries screaming inside her head as she ran over the last day's events, time and time again. Siyeon couldn't name a reason why it was bothering her so much. She just wanted to be near the Countess. It was like she was under her spell, she was all Siyeon could think about. Especially after her dream.

"What is happening to me?"

Siyeon groaned and shakily reached up, softly patting around her skin and flinched when her fingers touched a patched up wound above her left brow. Strangely enough, it didn't hurt too much, even when she pressed around the area. She raised both her arms high above her head, squinting as she inspected them. A few scratches littered her palms, probably from when she fell and she knew her knees stung more than usual. The world around her swirled, ripples and small black dots appearing all around her so she closed her eyes, curling up into a ball and fell back into a somewhat restful sleep. Her gut told her she was safe, wherever she was, and her headache was too strong for her to care about it any longer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'm so sorry this took so long akjdf


	3. the girl

Siyeon woke up to the chirping of birds. Her head pounded like crazy, waves of pain crashing against her skull in an unforeseeable pattern. Her hands flew up, gripping at the black hair above her ears to try and tame the pain, her face contorted in a grimace. The pounding wouldn't stop no matter how hard she gripped, only causing more pain. Flashes appeared before her eyes, memories, moments of the night before. She vaguely remembered the world turning in front of her eyes, disappearing in the mere blink of an eye. A moment later the Countess sat next to her, red eyes shining under her deep frown. Her forehead stung, the ghost of the Countess's fingers gliding over her skin. Unintelligible whispers reached her ears, the memory so alive she felt she could grasp it with her bare fingers.

"I want to apologize," Siyeon's mouth wordlessly moved in sync with the memory.

A metallic taste met her tongue, an unfamiliar tune hanging from the Countess's lips as she soothingly lulled Siyeon back into the safety of sleep, her humming following her deep into the land of dreams. Even now, as she was awake, the tune chiming in her mind put a layer of haziness over her, calming her down enough for the trembling in her legs to stop. Everything turned white, her body collapsing from the screaming pain, and suddenly a different scene appeared, the countess kneeling beside her bed this time. Unmoving as she was, curled up on the mattress with soft, yellow light falling onto her skin, she felt the ghost of past movements in her limbs. Felt herself wind on the bed as the Countess tapped at her forehead and arms with a cloth dipped in a golden colored tincture. The pulsing of her blood in her ears was becoming unbearable, audible through the memories.

"I'm healing you, stay still," the Countess's voice was weirdly dull, echoes blurring the words into a single unintelligible string of noise.

A soft hand pressed her into the blankets, holding her down, her vision filled with dark red hair. Light flashed before her, reflecting off of the Countess's sharp teeth and her eyes closed, too sensitive to stay open. 

A cautious murmur flooded her mind, the Countess quietly asking, "You are awake I see. How is your head?"

Siyeon jumped up from the bed, still gripping her head, and frantically looked around the room, trying to find the voice's origin. Nothing but emptiness greeted her. Light fell through the open curtains, the fabric gently swaying with the surprisingly warm breeze winding through the slightly ajar windows. It was as if the mansion existed in its own timeline, it's own space in the world. Even as the outside world was plagued with the nearing winter, frost taking over the earth, the mansion itself emitted warmth and comfort.

A sudden movement outside caught her interest, making her forget the mysterious voice, and as she walked closer to the glass, she noticed a small crow hobbling on the window-still, a short twig in its beak. Siyeon crouched down, slowly so she wouldn't scare the young bird, and observed the way it cocked its head to the side. Her eyes trailed its feathers and the way they glittered in a blue-ish hue, how the light reflected off of them. She stayed in the same position, ignoring the burning in her thighs, and just watched the crow. It stared right back, turning its head to look straight at Siyeon. 

"Come to the garden, Siyeon," the husky voice she knew so well whispered into her ears, "I need to speak with you."

Siyeon blinked and so did the bird. 

"This is madness," she muttered to herself, shaking her head in disbelief.

She was confused. At this point, she had completely given up on reason and logic. Something she was not used to, her mind used to over-analyzing everything, always trying to find the pattern and reasoning behind the smallest of things. 

The Countess was something new. 

And everything about her left Siyeon a confused yet overly curious mess. 

She knew she wouldn't be able to explain any of the things that had happened for the past days. The Countess's existence alone was an exception to the world she knew. For now, she simply wanted to talk to her again, an unexplainable urge inside her ever pushing her closer to the unsolved mystery that was the red-haired woman. She threw a last smile at the young crow, nodding her head in its direction, and left the room after neatly putting the blanket back on the bed. 

She wasn't surprised when she was met with orange hair the moment she stepped outside, door falling closed behind her back with a thud that had her flinch in shock. Handong stood ever so patiently next to one of the many paintings littering the hallway. Siyeon was, however, surprised when she recognized said painting. It was the one with the woman they had looked at the first time she had entered the mansion. 

And yet it wasn't. 

It looked different now.

The woman held herself in the same way yet looked more worn out, angrier even. Something akin to burn marks littered the skin surrounding the heavy-wrought silver neckpiece. Angry scratches covered her throat, the fine red lines contrasting the otherwise milky skin.

It was as if the artist had chosen to pain her again, many, many years later, the world around her tumbling down, destroyed and covered in ashes. Almost as if they had specifically destroyed parts of it, painting over others and just generally making it seem darker, eviler. 

Although everything inside the painting had obviously aged, the wrinkles on her skin prominent against the otherwise smooth beige paint, her eyes still held the same arrogance, the same youthful strength bubbling behind the lifeless strokes of paint. The hairs on Siyeon's neck prickled the more she stared at the painted eyes, her urge to lower her gaze growing with every passing moment. The paint drew her in, commanding her attention as she leaned closer and closer. Despite its obvious age, the smell of fresh paint entered her nose, the fumes bringing her headache back. 

Handong cleared her throat, nodded and tilted her head to the side, indicating where they were supposed to go to.

Siyeon followed, wordlessly. 

By now she had grown used to the stoic woman leading her through the mansion. She trodded behind her, letting her gaze trail the walls even as her fingers tapped her thigh in unison with the rhythm of her feet hitting the wooden floor. The silence was comfortable for once, a certain calmness running through the mansion's very core. Just as the day before, its entire atmosphere had seemingly changed. She thought back to her idea of the mansion existing in a separate plane of existence, almost as if it was a living, breathing being of its own. They passed several big doors, some covered in cobwebs, some showing clear traces of often being opened. It was then Siyeon realized nobody but Handong and the Countess lived in the mansion. Or if they did, she had not yet caught a glimpse of any others. She wondered how two people alone were able to take care of such a spacious property.

A small, white bird passed her right, effectively interrupting her train of thought. It circled her head once or twice, low enough for her to see the yellow streak above its eyes, before it flew up, settling down in a nest on top of one of the many shelves. Siyeon looked closer and saw more and more small nests pop up, littering the upper shelves and chandeliers. The windows were open, unlike the other times, and small birds constantly flew through, their chirping excited and cheerful. She almost stumbled over her feet, her head tilted upwards so she could watch the birds instead of looking where she was going. Siyeon didn't miss the young crow from before gently rub its head against a much smaller crowtit, the smaller hanging from a small branch near the open window.

Handong clicked her tongue, drawing Siyeon's focus and attention back to her.

Softly pushing the door to her left open, Siyeon looked back at the corridor she had walked through. Somebody so attuned with life couldn't be evil. Not entirely at least. There was no way so much care and warmth could exist in a monster's ruin. Handong had bid her goodbye shortly before, nodding her head at Siyeon in a quick bow and disappeared into the shadows. Quiet humming broke Siyeon out of her thoughts. Her head whipped around, black hair darkening her vision for a short moment. She stood frozen in the doorway, unable to rip her eyes from the sight in front of her. 

The Countess sat cross-legged on the ground in the middle of the interior garden, arms gently resting on top of her thighs. Her back leaned against the majestic tree, head slightly tilted to the side. A serene expression lay on her face, her eyes closed and lips slightly parted. It was the first time Siyeon saw her wear anything flowy gowns. She allowed her eyes to trail down and noticed the same flower stitched into the Countess's tunic. Tight leather wrapped itself around her legs, a black harness on her right thigh, with a single, silver dagger strapped into the leather.

"I'm here," Siyeon lamely murmured, crossing her arms and pinching the skin near her elbow.

"That you are."

The Countess's lips hadn't moved.

"Stop messing with me," Siyeon grit her teeth, "Get out of my head, out of my dreams."

"Dreams?" The Countess grinned, flashing her teeth, her eyes still closed even as her body shook with the force of her chuckles. "I did not know controlling dreams was one of my many talents. But do tell, what did you dream about? Something good?"

Siyeon's eyes followed her as she leaned forward, head tilted to the side, and eyes finally opening. Her tunic shifted, revealing more of her thigh and thus the dagger's intricate design but Siyeon's gaze rested on her thighs instead, taking a moment too long to rip herself from the inviting sight. The Countess's eyes already awaited her when she looked back up.

"Must have been good."

Siyeon rolled her eyes at the Countess's confident smirk and walked further into the garden, plopping down onto the same bench the other woman had sat on the last time.

"You have some serious explaining to do."

The right side of her face scrunched up when another wave of pain hit her head, white spots momentarily dotting her vision. The Countess jumped up from her position and crouched in front of Siyeon, worriedly cradling her head, inspecting the healing wound. Siyeon slightly pushed her away, trying to ignore the brief look of hurt falling over the Countess's features. She shifted on the bench, back straightening against the smooth wood. Her feet were firmly planted onto the ground, instincts still telling her to be prepared for a swift exit.

"You shouldn't be moving yet."

"And yet you are the one who told me to come," Siyeon pinched the bridge of her nose, groaning, "And still haven't answered my question."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not."

Siyeon crossed her arms. This entire conversation was going nowhere and her own conflicted mind was not helping in the situation either. She felt betrayed by how comfortable she felt, sitting on the bench with the Countess crouching between her knees. Some part of her, a part she'd like to ignore but somehow kept growing, liked the banter, wanted to keep the playful atmosphere, and ignore the onslaught of questions she was ready to unleash. 

But she couldn't ignore the tension between them, both sides aware of the other's danger and intrigue all at once. 

Although Siyeon still didn't understand the reasoning behind the Countess's kindness. She should've had no reason to take her back in, to go out of her way to heal her. Especially after their conversation the day before. She didn't know if she herself would not have simply let the Countess bleed out instead. A sigh left her lips and she gently rubbed her face, pushing the skin under her eyes around and let her shoulders sag.

"Come with me. I did call you for a reason"

"Could we stop doing this thing where you just walk me through this maze of a mansion without any goal."

"Would you stop accusing me of any and everything for one moment?"

The Countess's eyebrow raised, a steely gaze replacing the warm one from before. Back they were to the tension. Siyeon controlled her impulse to snap back and simply nodded, gesturing for the Countess to walk on and lead her through the mansion once more.

"I know you must have many questions. Trust me, I probably have just as many. If not more. I did not exactly plan for any of this to happen," she stopped for a moment to push one of the dustier doors open, patting the resulting wave of dust from her shoulders, "But it did and now we're both here."

Silence fell over them but Siyeon didn't mind. She was patient and knew the Countess would soon continue. The small breaks gave her enough time to process the new information.

"That book you brought here disappeared a long time ago. So long ago, I almost forgot it existed. And you find it right in the midst of all those rather," she trailed off wiping with her thumb at the corner of her mouth, "strange incidents."

Siyeon didn't react. She agreed. Indeed, everything that had happened the past days had been incredibly strange. The disappearances had been going on for as long as she could remember and yet something had changed. They were giving off a different aura now. As if the culprit had changed their objective. All in all, strange was a fitting word to describe all of the recent occurrences. She stopped herself before she could fall back into her previous train of thought, circling around the same conclusions she had already come to over and over again. Or lack thereof.

The Countess pushed her hair over one shoulder, still sauntering a few feet in front of Siyeon, murmuring words in a language unknown to her. Siyeon, for once, decided to pay no mind to it. She was too tired, her head pounding like crazy and somehow the newly uncovered skin on the Countess's neck was a much, much more interesting thing to focus on. She zoned out and walked on and on, something she had gotten rather used to doing in the mansion. They passed more doors, turned more corners in endless corridors until they finally arrived at what seemed to be their destination. The Countess shuffled on the spot before pushing the door open, revealing a lone staircase, winding into the depths of the ground.

"Don't even start," the Countess spoke before Siyeon could voice her thoughts, "If I wanted you dead, you would've been a long time ago."

How encouraging. 

Down they went, following the flight of stairs deeper into the ground. She couldn't help but laugh at the Countess's surprised shriek when a rat scrambled out from one of the many holes littering the stone-walls. Moss had taken over the stone, similar to her hidden sanctuary in the library. She almost felt at home between the dark, somewhat moist walls. A drop of water splashed on the tip of her nose and she changed her mind, wishing herself back to the beautiful open garden and dry ceiling instead.

"How come it is so moist down here? Aren't we right in the middle of the mansion?"

"This is a basement, Siyeon, they're supposed to be moist," Siyeon heard the Countess grimace even with her back was still turned to her, "But you're right, it shouldn't be."

She didn't quite understand what she meant by that.

Soon enough the tight staircase gave way to an open room, three doors leading out of it. They took the one to the right.

Siyeon didn't miss the blood staining the ground.

Whilst walking behind the Countess Siyeon had the chance to observe and take in the cellar's condition. Clutter blocked several adjoining rooms and hallways and hindered the two from swiftly walking to their destination. Dried blood and dust-covered both the floor and walls. Countless spiders crawled over every brick they could reach. Everything around her screamed death. Siyeon's belly contracted at the sight. 

She wanted to trust the Countess, she truly did.

The Countess's hand lingered over a silver-colored doorknob, her hair framing her face as she let her head sag. Siyeon, standing at a safe distance, saw her take first one, then two, then three deep breaths before she pushed the door open, throwing an indescribable look in Siyeon's direction. 

"I found her last night, a few minutes after you left, sprawled out on the stairs in front of my door," the Countess waved her hand in the direction of the corpse lying on the table.

Siyeon stood in the door and barely held herself back from vomiting all over the woman in front of her. She wouldn't have been surprised had her insides completely rearranged themselves at the sight. A girl lay, completely unmoving, on a table made of stone, her arms perfectly lined up with the rest of her body. Wounds ran all over her, the scratches and lacerations too well and delicately placed to come from any kind of wild animal frequenting the lands nearby. 

At least none Siyeon knew of. 

It was obvious the girl had been one of the many disappearing victims. She swallowed the bile rising in her throat and took a careful step forward, inching closer to the young girl. The Countess must have cleaned her up before laying her down, her face bare of any dirt or blood, looking almost peaceful in the way she lay still.

"It's the seventh time this happened," Siyeon looked back at the Countess, seeing her shake her head, "At this point, even I am starting to question my role in the disappearances. Or murders, I suppose."

The Countess wrapped her arms around herself and for the first time, Siyeon saw only a girl, seemingly barely older than herself, just as fragile, hurt, and confused as she was. She ripped her eyes from the Countess, allowing her the moment of vulnerability in peace and turned back to the corpse. Only when she lightly brushed the girl's dark hair behind her ear did realization fully hit Siyeon. 

The girl looked weirdly empty, her cheeks sunken in and hollow, lacking any natural fullness. 

She had quite literally been dried out.

The blood-splattered walls suddenly made all the more sense. Yet less at once. The question about the reason, the motive, just grew. 

Siyeon stumbled back from the table, the Countess catching her just moments before she would've hit the ground. She looked up at the other woman, her eyes big and glassy from fear.

"What is going on," she whimpered, a sob soon following when she finally broke, unable to cope with the events she'd witnessed, "Please just explain. Please just tell me whats going on."

"I thought it was you at first. I was livid when you left but then I heard Handong's scream coming from the door and my first thought went to you," the Countess stood up wand traced the dead girl's jaw, following one of the cuts running right under her jawline, "I am not ashamed to admit the joy I felt when I realized it was a face I did not know."

The Countess leaned on the table, supporting her entire weight on her arms. Siyeon could see her tremble even from the spot where she sat on the ground. Once more she was surprised with just how human the Countess came across. If it hadn't been for her burning red eyes and occasional lack of breathing, she could've passed as a mortal. Siyeon pulled her legs closer to her, supporting her head with her knees and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to make herself as small as possible in the dark room. 

"I can't tell you what is going on, what all those disappearances mean nor why they are occurring. I do not know and it's driving me insane," she trailed off and tightened her grip on the table enough for Siyeon to hear cracks, "Sure, I do have my suspicions, my own little theory but I have no way of proving things. To be honest I don't even want to. I would love to be wrong for once." 

The Countess reached up to her brow, slightly massaging the faint scar there. Her finger traced the skin, pressing against the scar and pushing her brow around with every flicker of her wrist.

"Tell me."

Siyeon's whisper was barely audible. Her voice trembled with sobs still choking her up from time to time, tears running down her face in silent rivers. She didn't care to wipe them.

"I don't exactly trust you, Siyeon," those burning red eyes fixated her once more and Siyeon fought to keep the contact, "But I am willing to take this risk."

"You can trust me."

The Countess raised her brow but continued talking.

"My life is a lonely one, you know? The only constants being Handong and this home. You're a fresh breath of air," she chuckled at the irony of her talking about breathing.

"I am a corpse, Siyeon," the Countess pointed back at the dead girl, "I am nothing more than her. The only difference is, that I somehow keep myself awake between the living by taking what others need to survive."

She had, once again, moved closer to Siyeon. Her brows tightly knit together as she stared at her, grimacing in something that was obvious pain. Siyeon gulped. She didn't quite understand why she felt the Countess's pain as if it was her own, why she wanted to take it away. The Countess reached out and gently wiped Siyeon's tears for her. She shook her head and sighed.

"You do not want me to trust you. It may have been a while, but I can still see the countless times blood traveled down my chin, down my throat, and onto my hands, coating my arms in a never-leaving red. My entire being is stained with blood, Siyeon. I am a corpse whose sole purpose is to turn others into corpses as well."

She gingerly held Siyeon's cheek, letting her gaze travel all over her features and grit her teeth.

"Look at me, Siyeon," the Countess raised her voice, commanding Siyeon to meet her eyes, "Really look at me."

She gripped her chin, the small hand wrapping itself around her jaw, locking her head in place. The Countess's red eyes bore themselves into her own, for once not allowing her to avert her eyes and focus on something else. All she could do was stare back into the black pit that was the other woman's pupil and watch the orange flames dance in the black. 

First, the Countess's face transformed, her skin loosing all of its glow, taking on a sickly white color. The texture almost reminded Siyeon of fine ground flour. The area around her eyes lost its saturation, a dark grey shadow highlighting the now prominent and protruding blue veins. Siyeon could see the strands of muscle straining under the Countess skin, their blueish hue strengthening her outlandish appearance. The Countess's fangs had grown, now peeking past her black lower lip.

Siyeon flinched when something sharp suddenly poked the skin on her jaw.

When she looked down, she noticed how much the Countess's nails had grown, resembling claws more than they did nails. Had she suddenly grown wings as well, the demons from the town's old tales and myths would've stood before her, alive with her mouth hanging open with saliva collecting near the corners of her mouth. What disturbed Siyeon the most though, was not the Countess's bizarre and warped appearance, but the complete stillness of her body. The stillness and sudden cold seeping into her own body from where the Countess held her. 

Siyeon had grown accustomed to her small movements, the way she bobbed up and down on the balls of her feet whenever they stood in one place for too long, how often she blinked when they spoke, how her chest rose whenever she breathed in air. She had gotten used to the incredible heat the Countess somehow seemed to surround herself with, her warmth always instantly taking over Siyeon's entire being. She had, so far, been a beacon of calm. Even when she had gotten angry, Siyeon had still felt a flicker of warmth and kindness inside her.

The last lick of a flame was extinguished, replaced by nothing but ice hungering to expand and take over more, creating its own frozen kingdom.

Before her no longer knelt a woman but a creature of the night. Something inherently dark and evil. 

Not a muscle in her body moved, her eyes, now completely black with just the glimmer of an icy red, staring into Siyeon's very soul without the smallest tremor. 

Siyeon gulped.

And chose to ignore everything. 

"You're still the same woman who saved me from what might've been certain death. And I am going to do something stupid."

Siyeon didn't know why she announced it and neither why the thought had suddenly entered her mind. She wanted the Countess to truly trust her. And the only way in which she knew to accomplish that goal, was to offer her blood.

"What?" 

The bewilderment in the Countess's eyes was obvious.

"I want you to trust me," Siyeon moved to grab the vampire's dagger.

The Countess's hand gripped her arm long before she could reach the silver-colored weapon. She glared at her, then huffed and then smirked.

"You want me to trust you and yet the first thing you do is reach for my weapon?"

Dread filled Siyeon. That had not been her intention.

"I know what you wanted to do," the Countess's lips closed around Siyeon's ear as she whispered and bit down ever so slightly.

Siyeon shivered from the cold sensation. 

"Fine," the Countess leaned back and licked her lips, "if you insist."

Siyeon blinked and suddenly white-hot searing pain took over her. One moment the Countess had held her arm down and in the next, she was holding it up to her mouth, cold lips firmly wrapped around the two newly added puncture wounds on her wrist. Her instincts told her to tug her hand away but the Countess growled and just gripped tighter, pressing herself closer and licking over her skin as she drank. The sounds coming from her were obscene, reminding Siyeon of a child chugging their favorite juice too quickly. She felt lightheaded and embarrassingly enough she felt good.

Extremely good. 

The pain had passed leaving her with nothing but the feeling of the Countess's lips moving against her skin. And something else she couldn't quite grasp.

"Bora," Bora panted out, tongue lapping at the blood slowly seeping out of Siyeon's wrist, "Call me Bora."

A smile tugged at Siyeon's lips even though her daze. She had earned herself her name. She sighed in bliss, enjoying the feathery open-mouthed kisses Bora left on her wrist, her tongue occasionally flicking over the original wound. The cold had disappeared, replaced once more by the nearly overbearing heat she had gotten used to feeling from the Countess.

"I didn't lie to you, you know," Bora was still on her knees, her lips kissing the soft, lightly bruised skin on Siyeon's wrist, catching the last droplets of blood on her rosy-pink tongue.

"My mother did die that day. What came back from that forest was not the woman I had known, but some evil, contorted version of her. I was ecstatic, of course. In my childish stupor, I didn't realize and simply believed everything would be alright, that she'd make up with my father and we could finally be a family again."

She had stopped with the kisses, pressing Siyeon's hand against her cheek instead and closing her eyes. Bora looked so incredibly vulnerable, Siyeon's very soul clenched at the sight.

"That morning she," Bora broke her sentence off, looking into the distance, "I don't remember what happened exactly. All I see are flashes, pictures of red and inhumane screams from all around. Next thing I know she's lying on the ground, my own red eyes reflecting in the black blood pooling around her."

Bora blinked, blood-red tears running down her cheeks in thin streaks.

"I found my father a few days later," she shifted on her knees, the stone floor painful to kneel on, and lowered her head, no longer able to look Siyeon in the eye, "His head had been cracked open on a rock. I don't know who killed who. But I know I'm the only one who survived. If you can call this living. I lost a part of myself that day and I have yet to find her again."

Siyeon broke.

She fell forward, an uncontrollable sob escaping her, and threw her arms around the vampire.

"I'm sorry I called you a monster."

Siyeon pulled back a bit, leaning her forehead against the smaller woman's.

"You were right."

Siyeon fell forward, desperately pressing her lips against the red ones in front of her. The kiss left her breathless. Sharp teeth scraped against her lips, accidentally cutting her bottom one open. The moan Bora released went through Siyeon's body like a blazing fire. A few seconds later and her entire body was shaking in the vampire's small hands, completely exposed to her will.

"You're not a monster to me," Siyeon said, short puffs of breath coming out in irregular stutters, the blood pumping through her veins in a race against time.

She blinked, slowly breathing in and out in futile attempt to calm the erratic beating of her heart. It didn't work and she noticed how Bora's eyes were focused on her neck as if it was the bullseye of a target. It made her feel giddy and good in a way. Her emotions, her entire mind was a wreck, but the small, warm hands holding her own kept her grounded. Siyeon choked out yet another sob, collapsing in Bora's arms. She couldn't hold herself together after everything that had happened and the Countess's warm embrace made her feel so very safe.

"I should be the one comforting you right now," she whispered through teary eyes.

Bora just shushed and picked her up, lifting her into the air as if she weighed nothing.

"Let's get some fresh air."

Siyeon relaxed against her, leaning her head against Bora's shoulder and closed her eyes. The soft sway whenever Bora's feet hit the ground almost lulled her to sleep, effectively and finally calming her. Even though she heard no heartbeat inside Bora's chest she knew the other woman had more of a heart than many people she had come to meet throughout her life. Siyeon sighed and leaned closer, simply enjoying not having to climb the flight of stairs herself. She would've felt bad about Bora having to carry her had she not known just how strong she was. 

Soon enough a thick padded fur coat fell over her shoulders and the two stepped through the entrance doors, taking the path to the left and peacefully striding along under Handong's watchful gaze. The door closed, the orange mop of hair disappearing behind the dark wood, and they were alone once more with the backs of their hands just barely brushing against each other as they walked.

"Why do you breathe when you don't need to?"

Bora blushed and Siyeon, for some reason, got shy seeing the red spread over her cheeks and neck. The tips of her ears peeked through the dark-red strands of hair and glowed so brightly Siyeon was sure they burned with heat.

"I thought it would make you feel more comfortable around me," Bora looked up at the sky, letting the moonlight wash over her features, "I suppose it reminds me I am. That I'm not actually a corpse, that I'm not just a mindless creature."

Her feet dangled off of the rock they were sitting on, overviewing the town. It was a beautiful sight, the white moon high on the sky, reflecting off of the waves crashing on the faraway shore. The distance made even the ginormous academy look small, the town shrinking in its shadow. Bora diverted her sight from the landscape and turned to watch Siyeon instead. Siyeon rubbed her wrist absentmindedly, the pain's faint memory still lingering long after the wound healed.

"How is your wrist?"

"Fully healed," Siyeon looked down to her hands and played with the soft skin near her thumb, "I just remembered the moment, that's all."

"Want me to bite you again?"

Siyeon heard her smirk without needing to see it. Her lips quirked up and she threw her head back, chuckling quietly and continued to stare at the moon. Her fingers were so preoccupied with pinching her skin over and over again that she didn't notice Bora's warm hand taking her own until it lay in her lap. 

"Use my hand instead," Bora whispered, her lips dangerously close to Siyeon's ear.

A shiver ran up her spine and she unconsciously leaned closer, chasing after Bora's warmth. They stayed like that for a long while, simply letting their feet dangle off of the cliff next to the mansion, enjoying their shared warmth and the view in front of them. Siyeon held Bora's hand in her own, alternating between softly pulling at and pinching her skin and softly tapping along the sides of her palm. She hummed, feeling completely at ease for once. The night had always calmed her, the quiet and knowledge of being alone soothing to her mind. Yoohyeon had been the only other person she had truly liked being with, usually preferring the company of books over that of other people. Few others had she tolerated and none had she fully been comfortable around. 

The quiet calm of the night she had never shared with anyone before. 

Always kept the way the moon shone down onto the sea, the way the stars sparkled in the perfectly clear sky, the way owls hooted in the background, for herself.

She didn't mind sharing this moment with Bora.

She wouldn't mind sharing many more.

Siyeon looked at her from the corner of her eye, scanning her moonlit profile and allowed a rare but true smile to take over her features. 

She felt happy. 

For a second she thought she had seen a bird fly by, the shadow quickly passing over them, but discarded the thought, remembering the nocturnal birds in their area to be a lot bigger. A twig snapped and she flinched, the sudden noise unexpectedly loud and unpleasant. She shook her head, trying to ignore the prickling on her neck. It was most likely just her imagination, just her mind playing tricks on her as it had done before, with the moving shadows in their small town.

Siyeon heard yet another twig snap, now accompanied by the faint sound of footsteps.

This time she couldn't push the thought to the back of her mind and swiftly turned around, trying to adjust her eyes to the darkness.

"What is it?" 

"I heard something."

Bora gripped her hand tighter in reassurance and stood up, looking around for a possible wild animal striding around the mansion's grounds. It was then she noticed the darkness around herself. Something that should not have been possible. Siyeon could see the shock on her face perfectly. 

It worried her.

"Get behind me," Bora hissed, protectively stepping in front of Siyeon.

The small vampire stood before her, back facing the cliff, slightly slouching forward. Siyeon saw her swing her head from left to right, scanning the scene in front of her over and over again. She was about to tell her to calm down as any sort of animal, even a lost bunny could've produced the sound when a surprisingly dense and humanoid shadow appeared.

"Hello, dear," Siyeon didn't recognize the woman standing surrounded by four bizarrely oversized crows, a shadowed figure crouching a few feet behind her, "Did you miss me?"


	4. the beginning

"Sua," Bora growled, a faint hiss-like sound accompanying the air passing through her lips as she pronounced the letters.

The woman hiding in the shadows, Sua, stepped closer, a mad smile curving on her lips. Shadows hung deep over her face, masking everything but her mouth. The closer she came, the less features Siyeon could make out. Three more crows joined the four already circling her, materializing from the smoke to her feet. The seven of them created a protective shield, the buzzing black distorting Siyeon's vision even more. They were disturbing beasts, their bodies grown and modified to resemble the size of a bigger forest cat with burning red streaks following the lines of their wings. Chunks of meat and feathers were missing, a black, tarry liquid oozing out of their skin as their three, tiny eyes respectively fixated on Bora and Siyeon. 

"It seems you have not forgotten me after all?"

The more of Sua the fading smoke revealed, the more the size of Siyeon's pupils grew. Winding swirls of dark grey climbed down the shrouded woman's body, exposing, bit by bit, a near perfectly mirrored image of Bora herself. Every single detail was an exact copy, from the scar on her brow to the embroidered nightshade on her tunic. It was as if someone had taken Bora's essence and inverted it, creating her specifically assigned counterpart. Where Bora's clothes were black the ones Sua wore were strikingly white. Where Bora's mole was under her right eye, Sua's was under her left. Even her skin stood in perfect contrast, the same black tarry liquid covering the crows crawled over Sua's skin, glistening with infinite reflected stars from the night sky. But few patches of her skin were untouched by the substance.

Siyeon shuffled back in her stupor, forgetting the gaping cliff behind her until one of her hands lost footing, slipping into the nothingness. She barely caught herself before she would've fallen and only heard a dark, booming chuckle resonating all around her.

"A long lost half returned once more," Sua grinned, and even from the distance Siyeon clearly saw how each of her teeth was sharp, filed to a needle-thin tip.

Bora clenched her fists, shifting her weight to the foot closer to Siyeon and tensed her body. She was getting ready to pounce, prepared herself for the inevitable fight that would occur.

"Yoobin?" A shiver ran up Siyeon's spine when a girl she knew well from the academy sneaked out of the remaining shadows. "Get the book for me, will you, dear."

"Yes, ma'am." 

The short-haired girl stood up from her crouch and started running towards the mansion, throwing one last look at Siyeon, who still sat near the cliff, before disappearing between the bushes.

"Back to you," Sua's head snapped back to them, having followed her as well, unnatural cracks emitting from her body when she did so, "We're going to have some fun."

She reached out to the sides and flexed her hands, sparks appearing where her fingers twisted against the air. Siyeon couldn't believe her eyes when out of nothingness a one-edged sword, as long as Bora was tall, suddenly materialized, seemingly held together by the same strange red substance spreading over the crows. The sword sagged and Sua closed her hand around the hilt wrapped in a dirty gold. She swung her left arm forward, cutting the night's air in three precise strikes before shifting back. She raised the sword parallel to herself into the air, turning her body ever so slightly to the side as she held it with both hands and stared Bora dead in the eye. 

Bora looked back at Siyeon, hidden anger rooted deep in her eyes. She had taken out her dagger, the small blade growing in size until it reached the length of her arm, and allowed her true self to slip through, her skin turning ashy once more. The red of her eyes burned brighter than ever before, contrasting against the blackness of the surrounding sclera and skin.

"Run!"

Bora's shout, accompanied by a deep, rumbling growl, was louder than anything Siyeon had ever heard.

"I won't leave you alone, Bora!" 

The sky itself cackled from the force with which the two otherwordly beings met. It was as if somebody had pushed their hands into the air, ripping it open and letting a light, so bright it singed the top leaves off of the trees, illuminate the scene around them. 

Siyeon screamed her lungs out. 

Her arm was protectively raised over her eyes, trying to shield herself from the burning explosions surrounding the two women as they stood perfectly still, swords crossed between them, simply staring each other in the eyes. 

Their fight was as much a physical one as it was mental.

Waves of wind crashed against Siyeon and she dug her feet into the dirt under her, having finally managed to stand up, in hopes of trying not to lose balance after all. She forced all her strength into her legs, taking a shaky step away from the cliff towards the other two. One of the grotesque crows targeted her, flying down and pecking at her exposed skin. Tears were already streaming down Siyeon's face in unstoppable waterfalls and she just kept screaming in agony, pushing on and on trying to reach Bora. The crow managed to break the skin on her arm and her eyes zoned in on the red liquid running down to her elbow. Its trace burned her skin until the warm blood slowly dripped down onto the ground, the drops disappearing in the wet earth.

Another flash of light caused her to flinch, make yet another futile attempt in swatting at the bird and stumble forward, landing on her knees. The cold seeped through her pants. She heard a loud crash and looked back up, seeing Bora jump back from Sua's swinging arm. Her eyes widened when Bora barely managed to duck under the blade swishing over her head with just a hair-width of space left. Bora noticed her and lost balance, Sua managing to punch her square in the face.

"Siyeon, I swear, I will not hesitate," Bora wiped the blood seeping out of her nose away, yelling as she rolled away, "Get the girl!"

"No! I-"

"Fucking run!"

Three of the crows descended onto the vampire still crouching on the ground, her entire body covered in a mixture of dirt and blood. She ignored the birds as she slowly stood up, gripping her sword tighter. Sua stood still for a moment before letting her sword clash against Bora's once more. This time it was she who got the upper hand, opting to remove one of her hands from the hilt and use her claws to scratch. She managed to wound Sua's eye and leaned back, kicking her foot against her chest when the other woman bent over, raising her hands in front of her eye. Sua fled back a few steps, her six beasts circling her in a protective shield of glinting claws and feathers.

Bora used the short, peaceful moment to zone in on Siyeon, her blazing red eyes staring into her very soul. A deep, husky voice chanted unintelligible words at the back of her mind, her thoughts seemingly respun to the vampire's will. Siyeon lost control of her body. All she could do was stare into the fiery red eyes that seemed further and further away every single time she blinked. Her feet moved on their own, slowly walking backward, towards the mansion's door, but soon enough breaking out into a slow jog. Their eyes still met, the chant in her ears growing louder with every step she involuntarily took. The world around her swam, everything but Bora's eyes blurry.

Sua screamed in unison with the crows' shrill shriek.

Bora broke the connection.

Siyeon saw her raise her arm against Sua as her own body turned, her back now facing the two ancient beings. As much as she willed herself to stop moving, willed her head to look back at Bora, she couldn't. The only signs of their fight being the ear-shattering screams from both parties as well as the crackling of the air surrounding them. 

Crashes.

Screams.

Followed by wailing.

Over and over again. 

Thunder boomed and soon enough a ball of lightning sped towards them, crashing amid Bora and Sua fighting, electrifying the scene. She heard a particularly gut-wrenching yelp followed by a sickening snap. 

Bora howled in pain.

Siyeon's gut clenched.

The tears on her face wouldn't stop, knowing Bora could very well die and she had no power to do anything. All she could do was to keep running away, following a path Bora had programmed into her brain. The mansion's door was wide open when she entered and she already expected to find the worst inside. Handong would not just have let a stranger enter her space. Her feet still moved with a mind of their own, the chant reverberating in her mind even as the voice steadily grew quieter. She sprinted through the hallways, evaded the attacks of the crow still following her, flew down the flight of stairs, and ran until she reached the room with the dead girl. She all but jumped in, slamming the door behind herself not caring that would lose balance. The ground closed in on her but she managed to catch herself, planting both hands on the stone before her face would ultimately smash into it. Siyeon panted, taking quick, short breaths, trying to calm herself down. Looking up her breath caught in her throat.

The sight that greeted her was unexpected, to say the least.

She was prepared for the worst, already looking around the room for a spare stick or plank she could use as a weapon to defend herself. The young girl from before, Yoobin as Sua had called her, stood in the middle of the room, running a bloodied hand through her short hair. She reached for a small package of what seemed to be bandages, taking one roll out with shaking hands. Handong stood a few feet further, arms crossed over her chest as she scrutinized her, following her every move.

Siyeon took a cautious step closer, finally addressing her. 

"Yoobin?"

It was more accusatory than questioning.

"There is more to the world than the eye may see," she hastily wrapped the bandage around her arm, pulling it tighter with her teeth, and grunted in pain when she cut the blood-flow off.

"You hid your real name from her," Siyeon gasped, more and more pieces of the puzzle falling together, finally forming a somewhat comprehensible picture in her mind, "So she wouldn't be able to control you."

"It was an easy lie to fabricate," Yubin wiped her face, disgusted with the dirt splattered on her, "They sound similar enough not to raise suspicion but different enough to create just enough of that difference in the effect I needed to regain control."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Siyeon, believe me when I tell you I couldn't care less about this book's contents," she held up the small journal lying on the table, "All I want is Gahyeon back and I'm out of here."

All three looked back at the locked door when loud scratches bounced off of the stone walls, echoing through the eerie room. Something was on the other side and the ever-growing noise meant it was just about to break through. Sweat broke out, running down Siyeon's back in cold streams. 

She didn't want to die.

"Were you followed?"

"By one of those things, yes."

Her voice trembled when she answered, eyes nervously darting between Yubin and the door. The answer was obvious. Yubin stepped closer to the door, only slowly lowering her feet onto the ground to muffle the noise. She raised her hand, ready to turn the knob and let whoever was on the other side in. Siyeon didn't miss the uncharacteristic smirk on the shorter girl's lips, eyes almost unfocused as her hand touched the cold metal.

"Perfect."

Yubin gestured behind her and Handong threw her a net. Nimble fingers caught it in the air and Yubin ripped the door open, pulling the net over the entering bird. It struggled in the net, flapping its wings against the strings holding it down, trapping it. Siyeon cowered, immediately slamming her hands over her ears to try and drown out the beast's monstrous screams. The tarry liquid covering it was dripping down, running along the net's ropes, and slowly drizzling onto the floor. Plumes of smoke rose from where the substance touched the flooring and Siyeon decided she would do everything not to have to touch that thing. The net held, surprisingly not disintegrating. 

"Got you," Yubin flashed her teeth.

She studied the bird, tracing her finger over its tar-covered head and feathers. Siyeon's eyes widened seeing her completely unbothered from touching the liquid. The bird struggled, its feet clapping at the air, trying to break both the net and the skin on Yubin's hands with the razor-sharp claws. The red, pulsing streaks of color pulsated at an even faster frequency, gradually shining brighter. Siyeon wondered how they were able to fly in that condition, the tarry liquid oozing out to the point the bird was more of an undefined glob than an animal. Yubin rushed back to the table, unceremoniously pushing the dead girl's leg to the side and dumped the now sealed net onto it.

"She's dead, she won't mind having her feet moved," the monotonous way with which Yubin reacted made the little hairs on Siyeon's neck rise.

The beast still cawed, weakly attempting to snap its beak at everything surrounding it. Siyeon couldn't rip her eyes from the crow, noticing how more of the red streaks slowly appeared, surrounding its three eyes in a spider-web like a pattern. Yubin picked up the journal, flipping through its pages until she reached one with golden writing. Siyeon was shocked, yet not surprised to see the bird flinch, almost leaning away from the golden page. She slowly came closer, halting just behind Yubin to better view the scene. The bird struggled more, winding in unnatural ways. Yubin slowly stroked its belly, her right hand holding the journal open, reading the information written in tiny, squiggly text.

Yubin murmured, outlandish words falling off of her lips in a soft, barely audible whisper. Siyeon looked at Handong, anxious about what Yubin was doing, but seeing the orange-haired woman react so calmly eased Siyeon's worries somewhat. She leaned even closer, peeking over Yubin's shoulder, silently reading along with her. 

"How do you know all this?"

"What do you think the academy is for, Siyeon?"

The first crack of a bone caused her to take a step back, just barely keeping herself from losing balance, the loud noise too sudden for her. She quickly shuffled over to Handong, feeling safer near her compared to Yubin. Only now did she notice the golden specks of light in Yubin's eyes, lips continuously parting as her fingers drew unknown patterns on the beast's body. Its wings flapped in weird angles, feathers sticking out, some suddenly grotesquely grown or shrunk.

Another crack echoed through the room, quickly followed by a pained squeak.

Siyeon felt pity for the crow. As evil and mindless as that creature was, as much as it had lost its origin, it was clear it was alive. Controlled but yet feeling. She couldn't keep looking when its body slowly bloated, the skin under its feathers stretching so thin it turned see-through even with the tarry substance forming a pool around the net, coating the dead girl as well as Yubin's hand, dripping down the sides of the table. Siyeon turned, hiding behind a curtain of back hair and pressed her hands against her ears once more. It was in vain, the noise sinking through no matter how much she tried to block it out.

She flinched when she felt a sudden hand on her shoulder, Handong gripping her surprisingly softly. For once her expression wasn't entirely monotone, slight worry written in the creases of her brows. She nodded to the side, pointing at the still-open door and lightly pushed Siyeon, signaling her to leave.

"I'll watch them. Find Bora," Handong's tone left no room for objection.

Once again Siyeon turned, being sent from one place to another. She didn't want to leave, not when Bora had explicitly sent her here, but the noise was becoming unbearable. A stench of death and something disgustingly sweet filled the air, Siyeon barely keeping herself from retching. She exchanged one last glance with Handong and slowly left to exit the room.

"I know it hurts, you will be safe soon," she didn't miss Yubin's low whisper when she left the room, "You will be back, Gahyeon."

Siyeon didn't have it in herself to wonder anymore. She was tired, exhausted to every last corner of her body. Right now she simply wanted to find Bora, make sure she was breathing and fall asleep on the next-best rock.

When she arrived at the scene of the fight she found peace and quiet instead of the expected noise. Ashes and smoke rose from a heap of bones somewhere to the side, Bora barely holding herself upright and off of the ground in front of a rather familiar raven. Siyeon crouched down, tiptoeing to hide behind one of the bushes and waited, observing the scene.

"Oh you wretched woman," Bora sank to her knees, gruesomely smiling at the bird hobbling in front of her, "even in death you haunt me."

Blood drizzled down the sides of her mouth, flesh she had ripped out of Sua's shoulder stuck between her teeth as she tried picking the bits and pieces out with her tongue. Her fingers bore into the cold dirt, stones clipping her nails and splinters getting under her skin from the force with which she gripped down. Her entire body heaved up and down, her breathing erratic as she lifted her head to glare up into the sky. Bora let out a blood-curling scream and Siyeon didn't dare move from her small hiding spot.

"Even in death you control me," her head sank, red hair falling over her eyes in wet streaks, sticking to her skin in a cascade of blood mixing with the red that already painted her skin.

The raven cocked its head.

"I have got to give it to you," Bora shook her head, laughing coldly, and stuck out her finger, gently patting the innocent raven's throat, "You were one step ahead as always, mother."

Siyeon flinched when she heard the series of loud cracks when Bora finally stood up from the ground. The raven opened its wings, flapping them once or twice, and flew away, scared from the sounds. Bora stopped moving, her arms still stretched skyward, following the disappearing bird with her eyes. Even from the distance, Siyeon felt the sadness behind her gaze, pain etched so deeply inside a woman, who at heart, still felt as betrayed as she had as a child. 

"I can smell you Siyeon, no need to hide," Bora snapped out of her daze.

Siyeon blushed, embarrassed, and also somewhat worried about getting caught. She shuffled away from the bush she had been crouching in, brushing dead leaves off of her clothes. Something poked her scalp and she pulled out a rather sharp twig, quickly flicking it away.

"Didn't I tell you to go find the girl?"

"Long story but the book is safe. Them too, I think."

"Them?"

Bora cocked her head to the side, questioningly glancing at Siyeon. 

"One of the beasts followed us. Yubin, the girl, said it was Gahyeon."

"I see," Bora groaned, shoulders sagging from exhaustion.

"How are you not hurt?"

Siyeon worriedly ran up to her, drawing her into her arms, holding her close and tight. She stepped back inspecting Bora's upper arms, checking for injuries.

"Belated breakfast," Bora growled, wiping a last trace of blood from her lips.

Siyeon decided it would be better not to ask. She didn't quite want to know what had happened. The bloodbath around her, as well as the pile of bones, told her more than enough. And all she needed to know, was that Bora was alive. 

She couldn't stay quiet for long, questions bubbling up inside her.

"Who was that?"

Bora looked to the side, staring at the unmoving pile.

"It's," she hesitated, "Honestly hard to explain. Give me a few days to collect my thoughts and I'll try to, I promise."

Siyeon nodded. Something else had been on her mind ever since she'd first met Handong. The woman felt different, not quite human, not quite alive.

"How long have you known Handong?"

"She's been with me for as long as I can remember," Bora looked up at the massive mansion, "Handong, well, she has always been here, with the house, taking care of it. I've known her always really."

"Is she the house?"

Bora laughed. Siyeon realized how stupid the question must have sounded. How could a person be an object? But with the events she had witnessed for the past days, nothing seemed impossible anymore.

"Yes and no. She is, was and will be," Bora waved at the mansion, her gesture capturing its entirety, "She is the housekeeper. But in a way, yes, she is the house. She is an observer, a fleshless eye, dedicated to keeping the manor and all its secrets and occupants safe."

Bora shook her head.

"To me, she is simply the person I trust most in this world," she turned to Siyeon and smiled.

She chuckled and used the hand that wasn't holding Siyeon's to flick a speck of dirt off of her nose. Siyeon felt heat rise to her cheeks. As soon as they stepped through the doors she stopped Bora from advancing any further, pulling her back and kissed her. She sighed, hugging the shorter woman and tucked her head under hers, resting her chin on top of Bora's head. 

"I'm glad you're safe," Siyeon pinched her collarbone, "But don't you dare do that again. My thoughts are my own, Bora."

"I'm not going to apologize for what I did. You would've died," Bora didn't lose her smile, nuzzling closer to Siyeon. 

Siyeon felt Bora flinch against her.

"You reek of blood."

"I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay," she bashfully looked to the side and Siyeon noticed how she had stopped breathing in, "I don't mind it."

"Are you sure you don't? You seem quite affected."

Bora's fangs slightly poked her lower lip and Siyeon felt her hand gripping her shirt tighter. Siyeon gently raised her hand to hold Bora's chin, tilting her head up so she could capture her lips between her own. All the confusion, wonder, and excitement from the past days flew into the kiss. Siyeon sighed, pressing herself closer. Something had sparked in her lower belly, breathing slightly hitching when Bora gently nibbled on her lower lip, dragging her teeth along it. She broke their soft kiss, leaning her forehead against Bora's, closing her eyes, and smiled.

"You're quite beautiful," Siyeon stuck her tongue out at Bora, biting it, "Kiss me again." 

Bora growled softly and lifted her in the air, holding Siyeon's body close to herself as she sped up to a slow jog. Siyeon didn't care where they were going, all rational thought had left her, the only thing mattering now, was the soft skin under her lips as she pressed hot kisses against Bora's collarbones. It was as if a switch had suddenly flipped over in her head, offering control over her actions to the mercy of her feelings.

She barely registered how they passed one of many corridors with hidden nests until they reached a door, most likely the one to Bora's bedroom. The vampire pressed Siyeon against the door, holding her up by the legs and peppered kisses all over the exposed skin under her throat, occasionally nipping and teasing the soft flesh with her teeth. Siyeon's breathing picked up, her heart beating faster and faster, demanding a quicker supply of oxygen. She tilted her head to the side, allowing Bora more access to her skin, waiting, hoping for her to bite down. Bora's mouth soon found, a spot under her ear that had her eyes instantly shutting from pleasure and traveled downwards from there on, resting above the spot where her blood pulsed the loudest. Siyeon felt the air leave Bora's nose as she exhaled.

"Not yet," the vampire whispered and leaned back, biting her lip.

Bora spun around and opened the door and the next thing Siyeon knew she flew through the air. Her body sank into the soft mattress, the fur blanket tickling the exposed areas of skin. 

Almost immediately Bora was on top of her, her small hands threading through Siyeon's dark hair as her legs trembled where she straddled Siyeon's hips. Siyeon couldn't hide the needy whine escaping her when Bora finally lowered herself to press a kiss on her lips and lightly pull on her hair. She squeezed her thighs helplessly, automatically grinding up into the woman sitting on her. Ever since she had first laid her eyes on Bora she had felt a more carnal attraction to her, aside from the obvious intrigue. She did still primarily want to get to know her, spend time with her, and just learn about the vampire's world as much as her own. 

But at the same time, she just wanted to kiss her.

To kiss her and explore every single part of her body and have Bora explore every single part of her as well.

Lust grew in her, pooling in her lower belly, as she looked at Bora through blurry eyes, head spinning from the lack of oxygen. Their kisses grew messier and at some point, her lip started bleeding from the Bora's constant nibbling. It burned but the feeling of Bora taking her lip between her on and lightly sucking on it had her forget all about the pain. Siyeon's hands traveled up Bora's back and softly scratched at her through the black tunic's thin material. Bora sat up straighter, pushing Siyeon's hips into the bed. She broke the kiss only to gently cup Siyeon's cheek. 

"Is this okay?" 

Siyeon melted against her, smiling up at the red eyes burning into her.

"Yes. I would've stopped you otherwise."

Bora's smile almost blinded Siyeon, she could feel the happiness radiating off of the other woman.

"I like you," Siyeon tilted her head to give Bora better access to her hair as she spoke, "I don't entirely understand why, but I do. You caught my interest, Lee Siyeon."

She leaned back down, capturing her lips once more. They spent a while like this, maybe minutes, maybe hours, simply kissing and letting their hands softly touch the other's body. Siyeon's breath hitched when Bora's hand found her breast, gently rubbing over it through her fabric. Her back arched, pressing more of herself against the warm, nimble fingers. Soft sighs caught in her throat when Bora flicked over a particular spot. She shakily released the air, relaxing back into the mattress when Bora's hand cupped her cheek instead.

"Can I take off your shirt?"

"Only if you do as well."

Bora smirked at her, sitting up and slowly took off her tunic. Siyeon was in a trance, following every single shift in the fabric, her hands begging to touch the soft skin slowly appearing, bit by bit. The tunic landed somewhere next to the bed, quickly followed by Bora's pants as well as Siyeon's shirt. Her mouth dried at the sight of Bora wearing nothing but dark, lacy underclothes similar to the ones she had dreamed about.

"You're beautiful," she whispered in awe.

Bora smiled, bashful lowering her head. Her hands were nervously playing with the skin on Siyeon's abdomen, tracing lazy circles as she simply took in the way she was sprawled out beneath her. Siyeon shifted, the touch slowly becoming too much and not enough at once, the pressure inside of her still climbing higher. She swiped a loose strand of hair behind Bora's ear and let her last restraints fall. She wanted to enjoy this moment and she wanted to enjoy it to the fullest. Her mind went back to the dream she had had, her eyes focusing on Bora's chest in front of her. She remembered the ghost of her touch and how much she wanted to feel it again. 

Siyeon gulped in anticipation. 

"Could you?" She looked to the side, too embarrassed to meet the red eyes hovering above her. 

Bora hummed in confusion and continued drawing lazy circles on Siyeon's stomach, her short nails leaving the faintest scratches on her smooth skin. For every line she drew, a second, more soft and padded one followed, her thumbs rubbing over the skin in soothing motions. Soft red lines appeared and disappeared again in a constant game of pull and push.

"Could I?"

Siyeon reached down to grab one of Bora's hands and brought it up to her throat, gently laying the small hand on it. Bora's gaze snapped to her in surprise, her thighs tightening around Siyeon's hips simultaneously with her hand. Siyeon saw her gulp, throat bobbing up and down, the reaction strangely endearing to Siyeon. She loved the effect she had on Bora, loved how she obviously affected her as much as the vampire did her. She couldn't hide her smile, grinning with how much Bora's thighs trembled where she sat.

"Like this?" 

Words bundled up in her but couldn't make it past the barrier when she felt Bora gently squeeze. Bora licked her blood-red lips. Siyeon nodded, looking away again, unable to look her in the eyes too long. The speed of her heartbeat increased and she almost thought it would jump out of her chest. Her mind got hazier with every passing moment and all she wanted to do was allow herself to fall into the sweet embrace of pleasure over and over again. Fingerpads pressed against the side of her throat, following the lines of her veins and she couldn't stop her hips from twitching, pushing up into the ones above her. It felt even better than the burning hands from her dreams.

"This was part of those dreams, wasn't it?"

"Yes."

Sometimes Siyeon was convinced Bora could read her thoughts after all. She leaned down and kissed Siyeon's jaw, traveling up to her ear, softly biting the shell. Her left hand laid on Siyeon's throat, not really applying pressure but just being there, holding her and ever so often rubbing gentle circles with her thumb. Siyeon tilted her head back further, sinking deeper into the pillow as she allowed Bora more access. She swallowed the saliva collecting in her mouth, throat bobbing against the hand securely wrapped around her. Her body flared up wherever Bora touched her, leaving a trail of blazing spots dancing on her skin. Her lips parted, the short puffs of air rapidly escaping her lips. 

She let herself fall. 

She was overwhelmed, feeling Bora's hold on her as well as the soft kisses on her neck and jaw. Her breath quickened when Bora began gently rocking on top of her, her lips parting more and more with every single gentle sway of Bora's hips. She licked her lips, feeling the dry cracks on them and arched into Bora's touch. Bora kissed her way over, Siyeon's cheek burning all the way to the corner of her mouth, until she captured her lips, dragging her teeth along the plumb flesh. Siyeon whimpered when a metallic taste flooded her tastebuds. It grew louder and rose in pitch when Bora's deep moan rumbled through her, the vampire sucking on the cut more vehemently.

She let go of her lip with a loud plop, licking some blood from her own lips and started her journey downward. Bora kissed over her chest, softly trailing her fingers over her skin as she went lower and lower until she pressed one last hot kiss against Siyeon's hip one. She shuffled further down, easily slipping the wide pants and undergarments down Siyeon's long legs. Looking up at Siyeon through long lashes she leaned down and kissed her thigh, allowing her teeth to occasionally brush against her.

Siyeon moaned quietly, throwing her head back from the explosion of feelings hitting her senses. Her hair, damp from sweat, stuck on her face and neck. She swallowed, almost choking when Bora's burning tongue swiped over her trembling thigh. Her grip on the fur under her tightened, fingers threading through the soft hairs, close to shredding it apart with the strength with which she held onto it. The soft breeze running through the room did nothing to cool Siyeon's heated skin. It only made her burn brighter under Bora's deft hands playing with her thigh and belly.

The sharp graze of teeth against her had Siyeon lower her gaze. She stopped breathing at the sight, lust choking her up immediately. Bora was on her knees once more, red eyes hidden under long, black lashes as her sinful tongue kept tracing circles over her skin. Siyeon's hip jerked up when pointy fangs nibbled on her thigh. Bora gently spread them further, holding her thigs down when she laid her head on the side and looked up at Siyeon. Dark brown and red eyes met, the tension between them so strong and thick nothing could fathom to cut it. Bora's throat was bobbing up and down, tongue poking out between the sharp canines. Siyeon's thoughts flew back to the day before, where they had been in a similar position. Her heart swelled at the thought of Bora denying herself her basic instincts just to make her more comfortable.

"May I?" 

Siyeon breathed out a small yes in confirmation and pressed Bora's head closer to herself. The vampire rubbed her nose against the soft skin close to the apex of Siyeon's thighs, inhaling the mixing scents. Her eyes met Siyeon's one last time before her teeth finally sank into her. Siyeon's body tensed up at the white pain searing through her. She groaned, thighs shuddering under Bora's firm grasp. Soon enough a pinkish tongue slipped between red lips, soothing the sore spot. Groans turned back into soft moans. The mix of pain and pleasure had Siyeon unconsciously grinding against Bora's face, both trying to flee the pain and search for more pleasure at once. Her thighs threatened to close around Bora's head, muscles tensing with each swipe of her tongue. Her left leg jerked when nimble fingers danced along the inner side of her thigh, nearing the spot between her legs. They played with her, alternating between softly massaging and pinching her skin. Siyeon threaded her hands deeper into Bora's hair, a mantra of quiet repeating pleas falling from her lips as she tugged her closer. 

The fingers stopped an inch from where she wanted them the most.

"Is this still alright with you?"

"Yes, Bora," Siyeon rolled the r deep in her throat, arching her back against the bed.

The vampire flinched, an involuntary purr escaping her when her name rolled off of Siyeon's tongue. Despite the circumstances and suggestive position they were in at the moment Siyeon couldn't help but smile when she noticed her dumbfounded expression. 

"Bora," Siyeon teased, slightly biting her tongue.

Bora leaned up, pushing herself over Siyeon's body to kiss the tip of her nose and grinned, the hand holding the thigh she had bitten into gripped on tighter. She easily slipped past the wetness collecting on her folds, deep, rumbling purrs mixing with Siyeon's rare but needy whines.

Siyeon's hands fell from Bora, the strength to keep holding on leaving her body as all her senses concentrated on the movement of Bora's hand. The vampire started kissing the skin around her breast after pushing the fabric still covering it away, and siyeon grabbed the blanked underneath her for support. White spots danced around her vision when Bora bit her once more, just under her collarbone, drinking just about a mouthful, her tongue licking the wound over and over, timed with the little thrusts and flicks of her wrist. 

The pressure in Siyeon's belly grew until it exploded, Bora's name falling from her lips in an airy whisper.

She wanted more.

She didn't get a chance to ride out her high, Bora swiftly replacing her fingers with her knee, pressing her thigh against Siyeon until a high-pitched moan fell from her lips. Siyeon's eyes were closed, not having the strength to keep them open. She didn't notice Bora's fingers until something wet and slightly salty touched her lip and easily slipped past it. Siyeon moaned at the unexpected but not unwelcome feeling and began sucking on them, timidly at first, but quickly used her tongue to swipe over the sticky liquid. Her hips shook from the fire still burning in her belly, her abdominal muscles contracting every single time she moved to grind on the firm thigh pressed against herself. The fingers in her mouth just added more wood to the blazing fire. 

Siyeon couldn't keep herself from whimpering when Bora's fingers slipped past her lips once more and out of her mouth. She was about to protest when Bora's hand rested on her throat instead, squeezing ever so slightly. The wet sensation cooled her skin ever so slightly even as her mind grew hazy from the restricted blood flow. Bora supported herself on her forearm, lips wrapping themselves around Siyeon's breast as her thumb traced gentle strokes over her throat. 

Siyeon's heart pounded even faster.

It stopped for a second when Bora's teeth sank into the underside of her breast. Siyeon was so far gone she didn't register the pain, her brain converting everything into pure pleasure even as Bora's throat bobbed against her as she drank yet another mouthful. Some blood drizzled down the corner of her mouth, gliding over her chin, and something about the sight aroused Siyeon even more.

"Turn me", Siyeon panted her words out, gazing up at bora through glassy eyes, her tongue slightly poking out between her lips.

Bora sighed, having expected the demand. She took in the girl lying underneath her, how her dark hair stuck to her sweat-struck skin. She trailed her hand down from Siyeon's neck, releasing the pressure she had put on the sides, and rested it above her left breast. Bora stilled in the unnatural way only she could, her body completely frozen in time. She focused on nothing but Siyeons erratic heartbeat, taking in the loud, strong pulse every single time her heart contracted, the difference in tone for the two separate beats. Locking her eyes with the now quiet Siyeon she gently tapped two fingers against her chest.

"This," she trailed off, "this is so incredibly precious. And I'm not just saying this because I'm addicted to the taste of your blood, to the sound of your heart."

Bora licked her lips, eyes rolling back as an involuntary moan escaped her from nothing but the memory of Siyeon's sweet blood coating her tongue, no matter how recent her last taste had been.

"I'm not going to turn you. Now now. Not when you're not thinking straight," Siyeon started protesting but Bora quickly shushed her, "Siyeon, please, your mind is completely preoccupied with chasing pleasure right now, you really aren't thinking straight."

Siyeon pouted at that, eyes still hazy, breathing quick as her hips moved against the vampire. Bora smiled and leaned down to capture her lips in a sweet kiss, smiling wider when she heard Siyeon's soft sigh.

"If you still want this in a few months, a few years maybe, I promise I'll grant your wish. But until then, all I can offer," she leaned down and peppered Siyeon's neck with kisses until she found the perfect spot, feeling the heat of her blood flowing through the artery, "is this."

She bit down, adding yet another pair of small puncture wounds onto Siyeon's skin. A small, perverted part of Bora loved seeing her marks all over Siyeon, and Siyeon knew it.

And liked it as well.

This time, Bora's teeth stayed on her neck. Siyeon actively felt the blood leave her body, every new gush being accompanied by Bora's thigh and a squeeze on her throat. 

"Siyeon," her voice was all husky and raspy from lust, crazed hunger clouded her red eyes as she breathed against Siyeon's neck.

Siyeon's eyes rolled back until all she saw was darkness. She closed her eyes. She felt too much. Her hips were wildly thrusting against Bora's thigh, searching for relief only she could grant her. Her throat was burning. Every swipe of Bora's tongue against the small puncture wounds a searing lick of fire. 

"I trust you," Siyeon barely managed to choke out between heavy puffs of air, "Don't stop yet."

Black spots danced around the border of her vision yet she felt safe under Bora's touch. The fire in the vampire's eyes shone brighter, flames blazing as she gave in to her hunger. She kept lapping at Siyeon's neck the way a young kitten would at milk. Siyeon threaded her hand through the hair at Bpra's nape, grabbing her head and pushing her even closer to her neck. By now the only feeling left were Bora's consistent licks and moans, the vibrations against her throat a continuous reminder. Siyeon liked the feeling, even as a small, more hidden part of her almost missed the pain. She wouldn't mind Bora biting her, over and over again. Craved it at that moment.

"More," she was too far gone to be embarrassed about the need in her voice.

She just wanted Bora's mouth to stay on her neck. There would be enough time to deal with the consequences later. Bora shifted, moving her other hand down Siyeon's body, replacing her thigh once more with her finger. They started moving even faster, a second finger slipping in, and the world around Siyeon lost all meaning, everything wrapped in a sheen layer of pleasure and bliss. She allowed herself to fall into Bora, her legs stuttering as perfectly red lips drew the life out of her. Her strength left her, body completely still under Bora's touch. With a content sigh, she let her consciousness slip, falling inside the black.

Bora's fingers gently stroked Siyeon's jaw, red eyes boring themselves into dark ones. Siyeon grinned, her senses slowly returning to her body. She breathed in deeply forcing air into her lungs as she tried to calm down, small aftershocks still traveling through her body every so often. She didn't notice Bora's fingers still inside of her until she slowly pulled them out, dragging one last low moan from Siyeon, the touch just barely too much for her overly sensitive nerves.

Bora cupped both her cheeks, ever so softly holding Siyeon's head as she captured her lips in a slow yet deep kiss. 

Siyeon's heart still beat like crazy.

But she felt content, happy, and relaxed.

"Want to go teach crows, the friendly ones, how to shout menacing things at the townspeople with me?"

The lust clouding her mind had disappeared by just the smallest fraction. She wanted to spend the following day with Bora as well. And all the days following the following day.

"Maybe not in the middle of the night," Bora rolled her eyes and grinned.

Her fangs poked her lower lips, the image so cute to Siyeon she couldn't stop herself from reaching out and touching them. Bora's eyes crossed, following Siyeon's finger as it neared her face.

"Is it possible to get addicted to being bitten?"

Siyeon poked the fang, her own tongue firmly between her teeth. Bora was about to answer when Siyeon hooked her foot under Bora's leg and turned both of them around. It didn't fully work, Bora still half lying on top of her and only her lower body being on top. She smiled sheepishly and gently pushed Bora off of her, plopping down on her hips when she finally laid on her back. Siyeon shuffled around a bit until she found a more comfortable position, ignoring the way Bora's hands flew to her waist when she grazed over a particular spot. Her hands played with the abs on Bora's stomach, drawing lines from her navel up to her breasts the formless shapes soon enough taking the form of a tree spreading out over her chest. She leaned down, pressing kisses in between her breasts, her hand still stroking the muscle on Bora's belly. She teased, kissing and nipping at the skin around her breasts but never actually touching them.

"We have all the time in the world, don't we?"

"Always," Bora lazily smiled through half-lidded eyes.

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know what this is hahaaa
> 
> Kudos to you if you caught the references :)


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